Why ethicists needs to watch Star Trek

I have gotten grief over the years for my enjoyment of science fiction. Many see it as an art form devoid of maturity, suitable only for adolescent boys seeking wish fulfillment. But the fact is that science fiction is the story form of the moral dilemma. It allows one to put a character into extreme situations where ethics are pushed to their limit, and it works out the proper course of action. From 1984 to Star Trek (Guardian on the Edge of Forever) to The Matrix, it helps us to find the edges of our morality and find the human answers to hard questions.

The reason I bring this up is a new report from the American College of Chest Physicians which attempts to figure out how to properly triage patients during a worldwide pandemic. In an attempt to provide objective, universal guidelines, they have laid out an Orwellian nightmare where doctors are choosing which of us have more or less value. The old, the handicapped, and those with mental diseases are to be put to the bottom of the list. Is it reassuring to know that John McCain (old man), FDR (paralyzed from the waist down), and Abe Lincoln (extreme, crippling depressioN) might be left to die under these guidelines?

But science fiction has crossed this rubicon many times, in many different short stories, novels, television shows, and movies. The real human method of triage is simple and the same one used in battlefields all over the world. Treat the patient LEAST likely to die first, then the next, and so on. The only judgement required here is medical in nature, not ethical, and thus no doctor or medic is forced to make the impossible choices of whether a retarded boy, an old woman, or a seriously injured soldier is more "worthy" of treatment. The only question to ask is, "Who am I mostly likely to be able to save.

We need to send these people the DVDs to Firefly. Seriously.

The Future

R.I.P. Arthur C. Clarke

If you have enjoyed virtually any science fiction, you owe a huge debt to Arthur C. Clarke, one of the pioneers of the genre. The author of 2001, 2010, Childhood's End, and many many more novels and short stories has died at age 90. He was also one of the few science fiction authors to have done some real science.

In 1945, a UK periodical magazine “Wireless World” published his landmark technical paper "Extra-terrestrial Relays" in which he first set out the principles of satellite communication with satellites in geostationary orbits - a speculation realised 25 years later. During the evolution of his discovery, he worked with scientists and engineers in the USA in the development of spacecraft and launch systems, and addressed the United Nations during their deliberations on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

Today, the geostationary orbit at 36,000 kilometres above the Equator is named The Clarke Orbit by the International Astronomical Union.

The world will miss this visionary.

Parallel Universes Go Legit

One of the fun things about physics is the strange things predicted by Quantum Mechanics. For example, the idea that a particle can move from point A to point B without ever occupying the space in between. Or the idea that an object can be in multiple states (i.e. dead and not dead) simultaneously. But one of the strangest predictions of Quantum Mechanics has to be the Star Trek-esque idea that everytime you make a choice, the universe splits into two parallel universes in which you make each choice. For years, people have made fun of this idea. But now, it appears that the idea is not so crazy. Lazy sci fi writers, have at it!

The Ultimate Space Walk

I have not heard of a new Sci-Fi movie, Sunshine, but in it apparently one of the characters has to walk outside in space without a suit. Slate has up an interesting article about what would happen if you did this. Slashdot also has a discussion. I found it quite interesting and not what I would have expected.

The Return of Farscape?

That is the rumor Allegedly, it would be as "Webisodes" (i.e. Web-only episodes). I'll believe it when I see it.