Art, Science + Technology
DMA9 Fall 2007, Section BArchive for November 9, 2007
This blog can be seen to have gone off tangent and possibly off-topic. However, I think this is a serious controversy!
What struck me the most about this week’s lecture was the topic of the electric shocks. They are used in hospitals to control insane patients. This reminded me about the time a couple months ago when I was watching the news. The news showed a video of a police officer repeatedly tasing a lady who did not do as commanded by the officers. Even though I could see why the taser was used, but the constant screaming of the lady as she was being tortured brought to me the feeling that tasers should not be used. There just has to be a better way…
I did some research on this, and I came across a story of a woman in her 50s in Florida that passed away due to the use of a taser. She called the police on a Monday afternoon, reporting that her sister was becoming violent with her. As the police came, they saw that the woman was schizophrenic and she was in a wheelchair. Since she had not taken her medication that morning, by the time the police got there, she was going through mental hysteria. She had picked up two knives and a hammer, threatening to hurt herself, her family, and the police. The police was left with the choice of threatening her to use the taser if she did not drop her weapons. She refused, and two tasers were used, about 10 times each. By the time she dropped her weapons, she was unconscious, and she passed away soon after. They were unsure of the cause of her death, but of course, her death would have been avoided if she had not been tasered. These stories make me think.. there has got to be another way. We should not have to settle with the usage of tasers. Being exposed to electric shock is torturing. Even though people are not complying to the words of the police, the officers should not have to torture them with tasers. I think further research on the prevention of tasers need to be put forth, to avoid these disastrous incidents.
Surprisingly enough, I also found a video of a UCLA student being tasered in the Powell Library by the police. It is unclear that actually happened, and what was the cause of the police to come find the guy in the first place. However, it is evident that the guy was refusing to comply to them, and he refused to stand up. The police repeatedly asked the man to stand up, and as he refused, they tasered him for what seemed to be minutes. The screaming is overwhelming, and everybody that witnessed this event were shocked to see such acts. They defended the student, told the police to back off. The student was eventually carried away, end of story. I do not recommend people to watch these videos, as I was extremely shocked by such cruelty. I am so bothered to know that something like this can be going on somewhere. Even though it seems fair to have to use taser for extreme situations, but seeing these videos has made me feel that they are unnecessary. THERE JUST HAS TO BE ANOTHER WAY!
http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=5751
www.news4jax.com/news/8980210/detail.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyvrqcxNIFs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroshock_weapon
http://www.tbotech.com/advancedtaser.htm
Week 6 – Biotech by Nathan Hsu
Where is the boundary of morality drown on the Lab Table?
As I mentioned in week 4, given the advanced technology, “Playing God” no longer seems so improbable. From the discovery of microscope that uncovered the unseen dimensions of organisms to the innovative methods of altering genomes, the paradigm of biology has definitely shifted toward another level. As we discussed the Biotechnology projects done on animals, it seemed that – there is nothing wrong if the alteration of genomes is not done on human beings. For example, we saw the pictures of rats whose genes were designed specifically to have certain cancer or illnesses so that the scientists could study them. On one hand, the studies are done for the future wellness of all mankind; on the other hand, these dreadful experiments are done on animals, such as rats, that seemed to be tagged “Disposable.” Is it really moral to insert horrible diseases on animals for the selfish reasons that humans might be able to use the result for their own good?
Are plastic surgeries really necessary?
Nowadays, everywhere people talk about changing outlooks, or girls talk about enlarging breasts or lifting noses, or Michael Jackson talk about becoming white. Well, such thing as “Plastic Surgery” was totally unheard of shortly ten years ago. Again, thanks to the advanced technology, women (or men) are free (well, they pay a price) to alter whatever they deem appropriate on their body. As a result, nothing is ever real. For example, as a harsh truth, many Korean actresses would not get jobs unless they change their outlooks to fit the public’s taste. There is even a drastic case where in China, a husband sued his wife, who had plastic surgery to “beautify” her face, for lying to him because she gave birth to an ugly child, whose genes are unaltered, hence retaining the original looks of the mother. It is sad to even think about how these superficial human beings would do everything for their outward appearance. Coming back to the question, plastic surgeries are only necessary in a world in which live the shallow ones who perceive no true value of what is Within their outward shell.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_surgery
http://www.indianchild.com/character/teachingmoralscience.htm
http://www.phil.vt.edu/Miller/papers/science.html
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12913
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2005/02/science-without-moral-limits.html
