The Royal Oops

Artemis has come up with a method of jamming 35 times more data density into cell phone networks. You can view a video demonstration about is here:

Here’s a couple of possible viewer comments:

  • Wow, that’s amazing.
  • Holy Sh-t, wifi hubs popping up everywhere … densely modulated RF all over all over the place … f**k it, I’m going to the woods

I agree with both sentiments.

Growing up with an over-active imagination fueled by a hefty diet of 1950s black and white scifi films I know what can go wrong when scientists get uber enthusiastic.

Yeah they can make a special fertilizer which will grow tomatoes the size of weather balloons. But, they also create a swarm of giant grasshoppers that eat Cincinnati. Oops didn’t see that coming.

Or, maybe it would be a good idea to release an experimental chemical, designed to suppress aggression, into the air processing system of a newly colonized planet — on Miranda for example .  Gee I wonder what would happen if the agent worked too well, and the colonists became so docile they eventually stopped speaking, eating, moving, or anything, and simply allowing themselves to peacefully die. Oops didn’t see that coming.

Okay, that one was from Serenity (yay Firefly) which happens to be a color film. But, they stay true to the “oops, didn’t see that coming” exposition.

Thing is, after spending a decade as a research scientist, surrounded by other research scientists, I know how close to reality these scifi plots are.

There is another darker side to 1950s movies. In this genre some nice guy (very naive) scientist comes up with a totally cool major advancement. Then along comes a guy in a uniform that subverts the peaceful purpose of the radical new invention into a military application — or in some cases totalitarian control of the populace. Oops, didn’t see that coming.

The nice guy scientists really think they are helping. I guarantee that the folks doing work with GMO honestly believe they are helping. And as usual they simply do not see the rapidly approaching “Oops”. When, these same guys or their technical progeny start purging genetic disease from in utero fetuses they will be totally convinced of the goodness they are doing. What could possibly go wrong? Dystopian nightmares  anyone?

When development progresses at a moderate rate we have a better chance of discovering our major “oops” and back off before the hand-basket makes it all the way to hell.

With the current hyper accelerated development path we are on, it is possible (and perhaps probabilistically likely) that we will really, really put our foot into it. Full on genie out of the bottle — major Pandora’s box episode.

Don’t know if radical advance in cell phone networking is one of those examples. But, the royal oops will come sooner or later — at least the mathematics of catastrophe theory predicts it. Just like in Terminator when Skynet goes sentient. Boy the look on their faces :)

It is typically at this point that I get really freaked out about what is come, or could be coming with slightly-evolved insane gibbering monkeys in control.

Then, I remember that I chose to incarnate into this time period for some reason — hopefully a good reason :)

Service personnel tend to go where service is needed. So signing on as service personnel kinda locks one into going to the beach — not for a sun filled relaxed vacation of surf fishing but rather helping the locals recover from a hurricane.

One of the reasons I invest little time in conspiracy theorizing (outside of scifi / fantasy films) is because I don’t need to be convinced of what is possible and/or likely. I am well aware of what people can do. Yes, it is always a surprise when they actually do it. It’s like squeezing a balloon. You know it is going to pop — but, it’s still a surprise when it does.

I don’t believe I am here to control the outcome. Watch a couple “butterfly effect” based scifi movies in which someone tries to “fix” the past. Same problem with the present.  Check out the 1936 “Man Who Could Work Miracles”  (available from Amazon Streaming). He wanted to help. He finally had the power to do whatever. Unfortunately his efforts became a nearly endless parade of “oops, didn’t see that coming.”

But, shouldn’t we try? Isn’t there something we should do?

If you happen to be one of those folks that did not incarnate with a game plan, then in all likelihood you are already fulfilling your role in this massive stochastically evolving social experiment we call Urth.

If you came into this incarnation on an assignment then get on the job and do your assignment. If you have a certain something you set for yourself… then do it.

What if I don’t remember what that might be? What if I have a feeling there is something, but I don’t know what it is?

Then, work to broader your footprint. Get a wide stance. See yourself as you are across many incarnations and many parallel lives. With a broader vision you have the chance of seeing the memo you left yourself — you know the one entitled “Todo List”.