Cloak of Invisibility

[Taem]

I see where this is going. The World's Largest Invisible Bass Drum is soon to be a reality!

I thought college students were going to use it to house the biggest rave party in the world without worry of being broken up. Oh well.

[ima_nerd]

God I hate our species.

A bit harsh.

Passing up on a technology like this is suicidal. Someone else will make it and you won't have it and voila, you lose. The arms race has been going since the beginning of time and will go until the end. I'm sure some guy said that he hated humans when the crossbow was invented, or the musket, or the machine gun. We're still here, we're still making better ways to kill people and nothing is going to change. Unless, of course, Brave New World is your cup of tea.

However, if you've lost all hope in humanity, go read Cat's Cradle and think of how well we have it off with only atomic weapons. Or is there really more...:shuriken:

[Alrin]

A bit harsh.

Passing up on a technology like this is suicidal. Someone else will make it and you won't have it and voila, you lose. The arms race has been going since the beginning of time and will go until the end. I'm sure some guy said that he hated humans when the crossbow was invented, or the musket, or the machine gun. We're still here, we're still making better ways to kill people and nothing is going to change. Unless, of course, Brave New World is your cup of tea.

However, if you've lost all hope in humanity, go read Cat's Cradle and think of how well we have it off with only atomic weapons. Or is there really more...:shuriken:

Which is exactly why I said species. We are a terminally flawed race, we seek to better ourselves with the sole goal of killing OTHER people. We claim to develop technology to live longer, to cure diseases, to repair damage to our genetic pool, to travel into space, to break new boundaries, but in reality these 'noble goals' are just facets of this constant urge to KILL THINGS. Humans will never change. But it sickens me to see the amount of effort and material wealth being funneled - no - thrown at weapons research. It will only continue to spiral, more and more and more until eventually we finally destroy ourselves completely.
A species with this lack of self-control, really have no business being here. We have the potential for amazing things, but we piss it all away, and for what.. a chance to 'rule' a piece of irrelevant landmass so we can pretend to be Lords and Masters of all, until we die off and are replaced with another megalomaniac the next day with a new set of rules and distinctions of whats 'right'?

No thanks, I'm starting to think the Silastic Armorfiends of Striterax were on to something.

Sorry to derail, proceed.

[Rhydderch Hael]

The human condition is defined by anything but the word 'absolute', so I find it hard to describe humankind in absolute terms.

Arms races have brought conflicts to an end without a hot shot being fired, through economic collapse accelerated by ever-increasing efforts to countermand enemy technologies (the Cold War).

On the other hand, arms races have been direct contributors to some of the deadliest wars to grace the Earth (World War One).

Two sides, same coin. The rule applied to one doesn't mean the same result applied to another.

The one thing I can accurately predict is that you can't accurately predict the future of humanity. Can you tell me exactly where one pebble in an avalanche is going to end up? Maybe every pebble?

[Occhidiangela]

Which is exactly why I said species. We are a terminally flawed race, we seek to better ourselves with the sole goal of killing OTHER people. We claim to develop technology to live longer, to cure diseases, to repair damage to our genetic pool, to travel into space, to break new boundaries, but in reality these 'noble goals' are just facets of this constant urge to KILL THINGS. Humans will never change. But it sickens me to see the amount of effort and material wealth being funneled - no - thrown at weapons research. It will only continue to spiral, more and more and more until eventually we finally destroy ourselves completely.
A species with this lack of self-control, really have no business being here. We have the potential for amazing things, but we piss it all away, and for what.. a chance to 'rule' a piece of irrelevant landmass so we can pretend to be Lords and Masters of all, until we die off and are replaced with another megalomaniac the next day with a new set of rules and distinctions of whats 'right'?

No thanks, I'm starting to think the Silastic Armorfiends of Striterax were on to something.

Sorry to derail, proceed.

You are a member of the species. Killing yourself might help mitigate the horror that humans seem, in your view, to visit upon the Cosmos.

But I doubt it. You aren't that important.

As to "we piss it all away," I do not care to be included in your concept of "we." I have higher standards.

Occhi

[ima_nerd]

Which is exactly why I said species. We are a terminally flawed race, we seek to better ourselves with the sole goal of killing OTHER people. We claim to develop technology to live longer, to cure diseases, to repair damage to our genetic pool, to travel into space, to break new boundaries, but in reality these 'noble goals' are just facets of this constant urge to KILL THINGS. Humans will never change. But it sickens me to see the amount of effort and material wealth being funneled - no - thrown at weapons research. It will only continue to spiral, more and more and more until eventually we finally destroy ourselves completely.
A species with this lack of self-control, really have no business being here. We have the potential for amazing things, but we piss it all away, and for what.. a chance to 'rule' a piece of irrelevant landmass so we can pretend to be Lords and Masters of all, until we die off and are replaced with another megalomaniac the next day with a new set of rules and distinctions of whats 'right'?

No thanks, I'm starting to think the Silastic Armorfiends of Striterax were on to something.

Sorry to derail, proceed.

It's not an urge to kill, it's an urge to survive. By your definition of terminally flawed, all life on Earth is terminally flawed. Every life form puts survival to the forefront of whatever it does.

[ima_nerd]

As to "we piss it all away," I do not care to be included in your concept of "we." I have higher standards.

Occhi

Of course you have higher standards. I have higher standards. Alrin has higher standards. That guy over there has higher standards. However, thrown into a survival situation, you will become just as bloodthirsty as any animal to ensure your survival or the survival of ones you love. Then, those "standards" disappear. It's not about right or wrong, it's about life or death. Arms races are the same thing. One nation looks around the world and sees threats everywhere. What does that nation do? Makes itself stronger. The same way you would utilize everything at your disposal to survive, a nation utilizes everything at it's disposal, including new technology, to survive.

Bloodthirsty? Maybe. Wrong? No. Unavoidable? Absolutely.

[Alrin]

You are a member of the species. Killing yourself might help mitigate the horror that humans seem, in your view, to visit upon the Cosmos.

But I doubt it. You aren't that important.

As to "we piss it all away," I do not care to be included in your concept of "we." I have higher standards.

Occhi

You know perfectly well what I meant, there's no need to act all pissy about it.