[extropy-chat] My Dilemma

[BillK]

On 7/6/06, Eugen Leitl wrote:
> Stuff and nonsense. I'm surprised you're buying into such tripe.
> What next, NASA gave us the teflon pan?
> I would like to see a list of "it all".

For once, Eugen, you're not thinking.
You must have gone all emotional on us. ;)

No need to Google.  Wikipedia is enough.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_during_World_War_II>
Quote:
While nearly all types of technology was converted to participation or
assistance in the war efforts of the participating nations, the most
important items were those actually employed in the war. The main
areas of technology which saw major developments were:
    * Weaponry; including ships, vehicles, aircraft, hand-held
weapons, artillery, rocketry, and bio-chemical/atomic weapons.
    * Logistical Support; including vehicles necessary for
transporting soldiers and supplies, such as trains, trucks, and
aircraft.
    * Communications and Intelligence; including devices used for
navigation, communication, and espionage.
    * Medical; including surgical innovations, chemical drugs, and techniques
    * Industrial; including the technologies employed at factories and
production/distribution centers.
--------------------------------------

Items included:
Radio, radar, aerial photography, advanced use of cryptography and
cryptanalysis, jet aircraft, rockets, atomic power, sonar, early
computers. microwaves, synthetic rubber, penicillin, nylon, the field
of operational research,.......... enough?
All designed and in production in about six years.

> Do you realize the monetary cost of a war? Do you realize the infrastructure
> disruption costs, and secondary costs to the the society?

Sure, war costs are enormous and cause death and destruction.
No argument there.

> What kind of "wonders" will this campaign bring, such as remote warfare,
> autonomous armor, and UAV surveillance of civilian airspace?

You want me to list future wonders? Better polish up my crystal ball.
How about:
robot driverless vehicles, robot home devices, bionic limbs better
than flesh and bone, lightweight body armor for all, emergency medical
improvements, headset electronics for communication and web access,
command and control systems for business and police.

>
> If I gave you a terabuck, don't you think you could do something to
> minimize that? Or do something about the fossil habit of ours?
> Or invest into SENS, or nano, or AI, instead of blowing up shit?
>

Sure, I could. But spending on wars is done at national level.
Peacetime research is done a very leisurely pace compared to wartime
R&D.
To date, people as a whole choose road deaths in preference to car
driving restrictions.

All I'm pointing out is that out of all the horrendous wartime
spending on death and destruction, there are new technologies produced
quicker than they would be in peacetime, which cause an almost instant
leap forward in technology.


BillK