OT: Orwellianism and real-life mad science.

narf poit chez BOOM · #1 December 9th, 2004, 05:18 AM

Two recent pieces of news: In BC (looking at the article now) all C-level hockey teams must have a handicap, because in the words of Seafair Minor Hockey Association president Len Cuthbert "The spirit of the rule is so every team in every organization winds and loses about the same number of games."

Second, (I know no more about this than a brief announcement on the radio) scientists have taught rat brain cells (And not in a rat, presumably) to fly a flight simulator.

Timstone · #2 December 9th, 2004, 05:35 AM

Rat brains can fly?! Who need suicide terrorists?

Karibu · #3 December 9th, 2004, 07:10 AM

Quote:

narf poit chez BOOM said:
Second, (I know no more about this than a brief announcement on the radio) scientists have taught rat brain cells (And not in a rat, presumably) to fly a flight simulator.

I read about this from a article on some magazine. IIRC they had real rat brains and somehow they got it flight straigth. When they dipped the plane either left or right, the brains then made it straighten. IIRC they were thinking to teach it to follow some pattern in flying too, but it was just a plan. I remember the difficult part was to motivate brain to do something. I guess the rat brain was thinking: "Why the hell I would want to fly an airplane??"

Timstone · #4 December 9th, 2004, 07:21 AM

Pretty cool that the rat's brain does that. On to the next step; organic computers!
Please, not the sort you see in Stargate where they grab your head and they cram it so full with information you are going to die from it within a few days.

Nodachi · #5 December 9th, 2004, 07:29 AM

If all the hockey teams win and lose about the same amount of times, why play at all?

As for the rat brain stuff, here's a link for the whole story. Pretty cool stuff!

Randallw · #6 December 9th, 2004, 07:44 AM

Interesting topic, I can't figure out what it has to do with Orwell though. (Its been awhile since I read Animal Farm or 1984)

narf poit chez BOOM · #7 December 9th, 2004, 07:46 AM

Personally, I'd rather leave the rat brain cells in the rat. Give it a few years and we'll have computers that can do all that.

Randallw · #8 December 9th, 2004, 07:57 AM

It sure would give Australia a use for all those rats we get when we have rat plagues

. When they do brain surgery on the rats, do they sterilise the instruments

. It's not like the rat hasn't already got whatever germs are on the scalpal.

narf poit chez BOOM · #9 December 9th, 2004, 04:57 PM

You know what would get me angry in high school? The gym teacher would join whichever team was loosing and make all our hard work (Well, really, it generally wasn't my hard work, but I sometimes exerted myself) pointless.

Raging Deadstar · #10 December 9th, 2004, 05:19 PM

Quote:

narf poit chez BOOM said:
You know what would get me angry in high school? The gym teacher would join whichever team was loosing and make all our hard work (Well, really, it generally wasn't my hard work, but I sometimes exerted myself) pointless.

I agree, But in football it was fun. When the Gym Teacher was showing off and I was Goal Keeping diving at his legs so he fell face first in the mud was always satisfying....

Or Dodgeball...