Craig Ventner's creation of a bacterium with a synthetic genome is a technological breakthrough. But the first response of many was to warn against hubris or hype. Neither warning is justified. We should 'play God', and hype is -- like it or not -- part of the cycle from promise to progress.The event was organised by one of the Forum's current visiting fellows, the writer and broadcaster Ann Lingard, who is also involved in the sci-art initiative SciTalk.
Ken MacLeod's comments.
The title comes from two quotes:
“If these are the early days of a better nation, there must be hope, and a hope of peace is as good as any, and far better than a hollow hoarding greed or the dry lies of an aweless god.”—Graydon Saunders
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Monday, October 11, 2010
Cockermouth Cafe Sci
Tomorrow (Tuesday 12 Oct) evening I'm doing a gig at Cockermouth Cafe Scientifique, on 'The Synthetic Kingdom'. My pitch:
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ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but every time I see the word "Cockermouth" I am reminded of how much of the 9-year old boy remains alive and well inside my middle-aged brain.
ReplyDeleteSo, how was it?
ReplyDelete"hype is -- like it or not -- part of the cycle from promise to progress"
ReplyDeleteI'm inclined to agree. But I wonder if you think that the same could be said of the hyping of environmental catastrophe?
Cheers,
Stu
You may have a point there, Stu ...
ReplyDelete