When Rationalism Goes Overboard - Science Meets Capitalism

NashVegas

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Fri Jan-04-08 09:02 AM
Original message

When Rationalism Goes Overboard - Science Meets Capitalism

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/01/dayintech_0104

1903: Thomas Edison stages his highly publicized electrocution of an elephant in order to demonstrate the dangers of alternating current, which, if it posed any immediate danger at all, was to Edison's own direct current.

Edison had established direct current at the standard for electricity distribution and was living large off the patent royalties, royalties he was in no mood to lose when George Westinghouse and Nicola Tesla showed up with alternating current.

Edison's aggressive campaign to discredit the new current took the macabre form of a series of animal electrocutions using AC (a killing process he referred to snidely as getting "Westinghoused"). Stray dogs and cats were the most easily obtained, but he also zapped a few cattle and horses.

...

In order to make sure that Topsy emerged from this spectacle more than just singed and angry, she was fed cyanide-laced carrots moments before a 6,600-volt AC charge slammed through her body. Officials needn't have worried. Topsy was killed instantly and Edison, in his mind anyway, had proved his point.

It happens time and time again - when profits are involved, people who use "science" strategically for their financial gain, they'll plow over anything. Animal well-being, human rights - it doesn't matter.

We celebrate Edison for the wonderful things he did for us - light bulbs, music recordings, movies, and so much more.

But there's always a dark side and it usually comes at the point where one can rationalize just about anything to prove their cause, for their financial gain.

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bananas

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Fri Jan-04-08 09:07 AM
Response to Original message

1. You should cross-post this in the science forum. nt

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Fri Jan-04-08 09:07 AM
Response to Original message

2. Your point is then,,,

that any scientist who uses animals to experiment (say life-saving medical research) is a greedy nazi?

How nice...:sarcasm:
(I grant you this is macabre but in order to make our lives better and safer, sacrifices have to be made, and don't think that animal researchers don't care about their animals..they do..I know a bunch of them and they all are also loving pet owners)

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baldguy

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Fri Jan-04-08 09:37 AM
Response to Reply #2

7. That demonstration was not an "experiment" & had nothing to do with science.

Edison did that as a marketing ploy against Tesla's alternating current. Edison Electric wanted people to adopt his own direct current.

He murdered an elephant for advertising.

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EOTE

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Fri Jan-04-08 10:14 AM
Response to Reply #7

9. To be fair...

The elephant was going to be executed regardless. It was just unfortunate that Edison was able to choose such a grisly manner. Given how quickly the death occurred, it was probably more humane than hanging, which is what they had originally intended to do.

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bryant69

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Fri Jan-04-08 09:08 AM
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3. Well the flip side to that is Lysenkoism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysenkoism No capitalism required to screw up that science.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

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SpiralHawk

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Fri Jan-04-08 09:09 AM
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4. "But there's always a dark side..."

And unfortunately for America, that dark side is using the formerly good name of the republicon party as a shield for its lies, corruption, and sexual deviancy.

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trotsky

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Fri Jan-04-08 09:12 AM
Response to Original message

5. Wow, science goes overboard and an elephant is killed.

Edited on Fri Jan-04-08 09:14 AM by trotsky

Religion goes overboard and three thousand innocent people die when jets are flown into buildings.

Now I'd rather not have either of those events happen, but trying to bash all of science by using this incident is just silly.

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NashVegas

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Fri Jan-04-08 09:23 AM
Response to Reply #5

6. How Is This Bashing All of Science?

Edited on Fri Jan-04-08 09:25 AM by Crisco

I've listed a specific example - which includes proposed fraud, btw - to highlight a specific circumstance - when patent profits are threatened.

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trotsky

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Fri Jan-04-08 10:00 AM
Response to Reply #6

8. "When Rationalism Goes Overboard - Science Meets Capitalism"

Your editorialized title.

And as noted above, it wasn't science but a twisted marketing ploy.

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NashVegas

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Fri Jan-04-08 10:17 AM
Response to Reply #8

10. That's Not What Edison Told Reporters

He was promoting what he was doing as science. He was telling reporters what Tesla and Westinghouse were doing was bad science.

While you may pat yourself on the back as being able to identify the difference between science and marketing, the greater masses commonly do not. They don't have access to the studies, they don't have access (or interest, often) in the technology.

But the financial strategist-as-scientific expert gets on the TV, in the newspaper and claims he has the science to prove he's right - and who's to say otherwise?

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trotsky

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Fri Jan-04-08 10:27 AM
Response to Reply #10

11. Well he ended up being wrong now, didn't he?

Science wins again!

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NashVegas

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Fri Jan-04-08 10:32 AM
Response to Reply #11

12. So ... You Disagree With the Basic Premise?

That when science combines with greed, rationalism goes too far and puts the (profitable) end above the (sometimes unethical) means?

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trotsky

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Fri Jan-04-08 10:36 AM
Response to Reply #12

13. No, I say that there is no need to single out rationalism or science as you are doing.

When in fact much more egregious examples can be found from irrational pursuits.

What was the original point of your post, anyway? To remind us that scientists are human with human emotions, too?

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