A fearless magician

Is Dr. Ron Fouchier’s forced mutation of the A(H5N1) bird flu virus inside a laboratory a dangerous experiment that shouldn’t have been conducted in the first place? The “new” virus can be transmitted via air from human to human, although the experiment used ferrets to demonstrate this, making it much more deadlier than its predecessor. This otherwise-fascinating property is lucrative to rogue states and terrorist organizations that may desire to exploit its pathogenic capacity for hubristic gains.

At the same time, Dr. Fouchier’s experiment finds important employ amongst his peers as well because it demonstrates the effects of specific mutations, how changes to the protein sequence affect the pathogenic capacity of the virus, and possible directions for future research. In the age of terrorism, thus, what bears more priority than the other: scientific research aimed at better understanding, recognizing and tackling pandemics before they occur? Or the possibility that such experiments could fall into the wrong hands and complicate an already precarious security situation?

[caption id="attachment_21062" align="aligncenter" width="250" caption="Dr. Ron Fouchier heads the virology lab at the Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam."][/caption]

Perhaps this is the only instance whereby precautionary measures can be disregarded in favour of going ahead with the experiment because, even though the conduction of the experiment in a dangerous environment can prove risky, it is not science’s obligation to back down in the face of threats posed by its findings. That terrorism raises such a question is as far as terrorism should be allowed to go, and upon consideration, it seems we must guard against terrorists by strengthening our armour, not halting the machinery that has made and still makes possible mankind’s progress.

However, the argument does not end there. One way or another, some responsibility does fall on the scientific community, especially the section that proposed to and did carry out this experiment, for the possibilities it has given rise to. In turn, this merits the question: was the experiment really necessary in the first place? When using experimental techniques to find newer solutions to old problems, solutions that are more progressive in terms of how many assumptions they make as part of the scientific method, researchers and those who fund them must be held accountable irrespective of a terrorist threat.

“It’s all about predicting what will hit you next. We want to predict earthquakes and tsunamis; we also want to predict what will happen with the bird flu virus,” Fouchier said about the killer-virus he’d created. “This work needed to be done.” For the moment, we must trust in the constructive tendencies of those who engineer our possibilities and not in the destructive tendencies of those who limit our choices. Terrorism is an integral aspect of the daily lives of men, women and children, and by stoppering scientific research, the best decision we will have taken is to secure our livelihoods for the present by persisting with caution and nothing else as defence.

Bill Brenner writes in CSO Online:

By mutating H5N1 into a more human threat, these scientists have given would-be bio terrorists something to salivate over. They say they did it because it could help them develop more effective vaccines in the future, but to me this falls into the category of things you just shouldn’t mess with, no matter how pure your intentions.

Why shouldn’t they mess with it? Yes, decisions cannot be made in a vacuum and scientists must pitch in with their bit to improve the situation around the globe, but to not do something just because it might fall into the wrong hands is the worst reason why it shouldn’t be done at all! If we don’t exercise our rights and also with it our powers to protect against risk, then we will have conceded defeat in a fight that, with each passing day, becomes a test of our resilience. The scientist may not be directly expected to pick up a gun and run to the front, but at the same time we must not expect that he will drop his tools and wait until the war is over.

[caption id="attachment_21063" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="The H5N1, or bird flu, virus has devastated poultry populations across Asia since the mid-1990s. Even though it kills quickly when it takes hold of a human, it rarely every infects our species. Dr. Fouchier has changed that, however, although the specimen strain lies locked in a lab in Europe."][/caption]

The H5N1, or bird flu, virus has devastated poultry populations across Asia since the mid-1990s. Even though it kills quickly when it takes hold of a human, it rarely every infects our species. Dr. Fouchier has changed that, however, although the specimen strain lies locked in a lab in Europe.

Such research is not pushing the ambit of scientific ethics; if so insular a definition could be afforded, then almost all scientific research in microbiology, pathology and virology will have to be abandoned. Instead, the state must not hoist the responsibility of factoring in terrorist possibilities on the scientific community – unfair as it is – but must work with it to construct an environment in which science can work its magic fearlessly.

The morality of money

Let us clarify our moral position towards money.

• It is unfair to blame the egoism of an egotist on the money he or she possesses.


• It is unfair to blame any evil inflicted upon the undeserving on the money that enables it.


• It is unfair to blame the failure of the working on the profits he or she may have first aspired for.


• It is unfair to assume that money may not purchase happiness or love without knowledge of all of one's recourses.


• It is unfair to conclude that money does not make the world go around irrespective of whether it may or may not.


• It is unfair to foist the status quo of the human condition upon the desire for money.


• It is unfair to include money into theocratic disciplines so as to justify its purpose in the hands of man, woman and/or child.


• It is unfair to exclude the institution of money from the successes of mankind.


• It is unfair to blame money whilst grieving the loss of money.


• It is unfair for any one man, woman and/or child to claim money is ephemeral.


• It is not wholly fair for all men, women and/or children to claim money is ephemeral.


• It is unfair to renounce money and, therefore, claim to have renounced materialism.


• It is unfair to hoist solely the blame of violating law upon money when it also facilitates the creation of law.

Wherefore the hungry hand recedes from the market upon the doorstep of which it has laid down a product of its skill, thereunto extends the healthy hand the money that stamps the seal of fair exchange.

The morality of money

Let us clarify our moral position towards money.

• It is unfair to blame the egoism of an egotist on the money he or she possesses.


• It is unfair to blame any evil inflicted upon the undeserving on the money that enables it.


• It is unfair to blame the failure of the working on the profits he or she may have first aspired for.


• It is unfair to assume that money may not purchase happiness or love without knowledge of all of one's recourses.


• It is unfair to conclude that money does not make the world go around irrespective of whether it may or may not.


• It is unfair to foist the status quo of the human condition upon the desire for money.


• It is unfair to include money into theocratic disciplines so as to justify its purpose in the hands of man, woman and/or child.


• It is unfair to exclude the institution of money from the successes of mankind.


• It is unfair to blame money whilst grieving the loss of money.


• It is unfair for any one man, woman and/or child to claim money is ephemeral.


• It is not wholly fair for all men, women and/or children to claim money is ephemeral.


• It is unfair to renounce money and, therefore, claim to have renounced materialism.


• It is unfair to hoist solely the blame of violating law upon money when it also facilitates the creation of law.

Wherefore the hungry hand recedes from the market upon the doorstep of which it has laid down a product of its skill, thereunto extends the healthy hand the money that stamps the seal of fair exchange.

The metaphysics of cricket

Watching cricket is such joy. It's a strange sort of team-play that the game necessitates, first in pairs by batsmen who score the runs and then as a unit of 11 men who attempt to defend their score by reinforcing the assaults of a series of bowlers in the form of a fielding unit. Unlike a game of football—whose example I invoke simply because it is the world's most watched sport—a game of cricket presents a theoretical number of infinite opportunities for an underdog to turn a losing game into a thumping victory. The gambit of procedures and regulations that sustain the adequation of each of the contending teams is necessitated by such numbers of chances, which are in turn actuated by how the game is, across any format, multi-faceted.

*

There have been many accusations directed toward the governing council (ICC) for letting what was once called a "gentleman's game" evolve to include sledging and 'not walking' as only issues of ambiguous morality and for not enforcing sterner measures against them. However, I believe that any civility that the game was envisioned to hold was intended only to address the social conventional requisites of the people who played the game centuries ago and that the inclusion of any moral dimensions into a system whose purposes are physical development and entertainment is, on the face of it, meaningless.

*

The world's most-watched sport lasts for roughly 90 minutes each time it is played between any two teams, has 11 players per team, and is very simple to understand given how it is nowhere close to being as macroscopically multidimensional as cricket is, although an emphasis on individual skills and talent have often made it an entertaining experience. The constant engagement of a whole team with the other team in its entirety, together with simplistic framework within which the game in its modern form functions, presents fewer opportunities for the cost of a mistake to be redeemed quickly or, for that matter, frequently. An important corollary of this argument is that, during a game of cricket, victory or defeat can be pinned on one man or a particular phase of the game, whereas in football, the same is not true: by way of providing for constant (or, at least, almost constant) engagement, the actions of each player depend on the actions of a few players at all points of time (except, of course, during a penalty shoot-out).

*

What do cricket and heavy metal music have in common? They are each a modality of group activity, one physical and one aesthetic, whose quality of performance has improved greatly since industrialization, and is even still dependent on industrial standards and how frequently they are not met. While the same can be said of football, it must be noted that, in the case of cricket, the improvement has been drastic and has also allowed cricketers to focus on the game instead of concerning themselves with issues of safety—concerns that have since been addressed against a threat of sanctions by said standards.

*

Did the Englishman really think he had infused civility into a sport simply by reducing physical contact with other players, requiring the wearing of full-sleeved clothing, and having stationary umpires arbiter disputes? If so, he will surely regret that he provided no other occupation for the mouth.

The metaphysics of cricket

Watching cricket is such joy. It's a strange sort of team-play that the game necessitates, first in pairs by batsmen who score the runs and then as a unit of 11 men who attempt to defend their score by reinforcing the assaults of a series of bowlers in the form of a fielding unit. Unlike a game of football—whose example I invoke simply because it is the world's most watched sport—a game of cricket presents a theoretical number of infinite opportunities for an underdog to turn a losing game into a thumping victory. The gambit of procedures and regulations that sustain the adequation of each of the contending teams is necessitated by such numbers of chances, which are in turn actuated by how the game is, across any format, multi-faceted.

*

There have been many accusations directed toward the governing council (ICC) for letting what was once called a "gentleman's game" evolve to include sledging and 'not walking' as only issues of ambiguous morality and for not enforcing sterner measures against them. However, I believe that any civility that the game was envisioned to hold was intended only to address the social conventional requisites of the people who played the game centuries ago and that the inclusion of any moral dimensions into a system whose purposes are physical development and entertainment is, on the face of it, meaningless.

*

The world's most-watched sport lasts for roughly 90 minutes each time it is played between any two teams, has 11 players per team, and is very simple to understand given how it is nowhere close to being as macroscopically multidimensional as cricket is, although an emphasis on individual skills and talent have often made it an entertaining experience. The constant engagement of a whole team with the other team in its entirety, together with simplistic framework within which the game in its modern form functions, presents fewer opportunities for the cost of a mistake to be redeemed quickly or, for that matter, frequently. An important corollary of this argument is that, during a game of cricket, victory or defeat can be pinned on one man or a particular phase of the game, whereas in football, the same is not true: by way of providing for constant (or, at least, almost constant) engagement, the actions of each player depend on the actions of a few players at all points of time (except, of course, during a penalty shoot-out).

*

What do cricket and heavy metal music have in common? They are each a modality of group activity, one physical and one aesthetic, whose quality of performance has improved greatly since industrialization, and is even still dependent on industrial standards and how frequently they are not met. While the same can be said of football, it must be noted that, in the case of cricket, the improvement has been drastic and has also allowed cricketers to focus on the game instead of concerning themselves with issues of safety—concerns that have since been addressed against a threat of sanctions by said standards.

*

Did the Englishman really think he had infused civility into a sport simply by reducing physical contact with other players, requiring the wearing of full-sleeved clothing, and having stationary umpires arbiter disputes? If so, he will surely regret that he provided no other occupation for the mouth.

On investigative journalism

Investigative journalism—investigations are initiated as a matter of personal conviction—responsible exercising of personal judgment required—practice of zero-interference methodologies—participation necessitates agreement with and understanding of policies that define the need—knowledge of what is right, what is wrong—is personal involvement necessary?—mandatory elimination of speculative convictions—investigation must not NECESSITATE the investigation

*

Scenario I

[caption id="attachment_3653" align="aligncenter" width="734" caption="Scenario I - Investigation timeline vs. probability of occurrence of event vs. timeline of event"][/caption]

Conclusion of phase 5 of investigation: direct reporting

Conclusion of phase 4 of investigation: reporting predictions

Conclusion of phase 3 of investigation: investigative reporting

*

Scenario II

[caption id="attachment_3654" align="aligncenter" width="734" caption="Scenario II - Probability of occurrence of event vs. timeline of event"][/caption]

Dotted line: projected probability of event as a result of interferential investigation

*

Scenario III

[caption id="attachment_3655" align="aligncenter" width="734" caption="Scenario III - Probability of occurrence of event vs. timeline of event"][/caption]

Dotted line A: projected, and increased, probability of event as a result of interferential investigation

Dotted line B: projected, and decreased, probability of event as a result of interferential investigation

*

Conference of ethical value—moral value of personal judgment—what if P(ethical val. of B > ethical val. of A) = P(ethical val. of A > ethical val. of B)?—non-interferential investigation takes precedence takes overall precedence when ethical values of A and B are fuzzy—does lesser fuzziness validate interference?

On investigative journalism

Investigative journalism—investigations are initiated as a matter of personal conviction—responsible exercising of personal judgment required—practice of zero-interference methodologies—participation necessitates agreement with and understanding of policies that define the need—knowledge of what is right, what is wrong—is personal involvement necessary?—mandatory elimination of speculative convictions—investigation must not NECESSITATE the investigation

*

Scenario I

[caption id="attachment_3653" align="aligncenter" width="734" caption="Scenario I - Investigation timeline vs. probability of occurrence of event vs. timeline of event"][/caption]

Conclusion of phase 5 of investigation: direct reporting

Conclusion of phase 4 of investigation: reporting predictions

Conclusion of phase 3 of investigation: investigative reporting

*

Scenario II

[caption id="attachment_3654" align="aligncenter" width="734" caption="Scenario II - Probability of occurrence of event vs. timeline of event"][/caption]

Dotted line: projected probability of event as a result of interferential investigation

*

Scenario III

[caption id="attachment_3655" align="aligncenter" width="734" caption="Scenario III - Probability of occurrence of event vs. timeline of event"][/caption]

Dotted line A: projected, and increased, probability of event as a result of interferential investigation

Dotted line B: projected, and decreased, probability of event as a result of interferential investigation

*

Conference of ethical value—moral value of personal judgment—what if P(ethical val. of B > ethical val. of A) = P(ethical val. of A > ethical val. of B)?—non-interferential investigation takes precedence takes overall precedence when ethical values of A and B are fuzzy—does lesser fuzziness validate interference?

Sometimes, To Be Ethical Is To Be A Fool.

If free information distribution is considered to be an ethical practice today, at what point does information retention become unethical?

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="250" caption="Google Labs"][/caption]

A very good example to illustrate this dilemma would be the products of Google, more specifically the services offered under their Labs feature. The first step in increasing worldwide public access to information was the Google Books project. The unevenness of opportunities presented by lack of space or time was nullified by the access to a range of books written in many languages and of many genres (especially of the classics corpora). On that primary level, any competence that involved information as a principal player saw the latter’s transformation into a tradable commodity. It began to be subjected to the same abuse that money faced: hoarding, thriftiness and deficiency. Therefore, he who hoarded, he who was thrifty and he who caused deficiency was inculpated for unethical practices.

Now, with too much information swimming around the cybersphere, data visualization has been resurrected with greater responsibility and, as a matter of an axiom, greater power. In between the two eras, that of data acquisition and perception, there was a period dominated quietly by a backstage hero called data mining: with more information on more things coming out every second, the proverbial gap between the winner and the loser began to narrow down because the two factions were only separated by the knowledge of what information was worthy and what was not. However, when we bit off more than we could chew, it was soon not a matter of what but of how. When we began to find out more than we ought to have known about the past, the future becomes less of a certainty and more of a possibility.

In line with that thought, Google brought in its Ngram Viewer (NV). A simple extension of the Google Books venture, NV brought together simple data mining, graphical data visualization and hundreds of thousands of books written in the last 200 years in 7 languages to leave the user with a new kind of data, ripe for interpretation. Visit the viewer here and see for yourself how the usage of the words “gay” and “homosexual” has varied in frequency over the years, and how it can be understood to show our perception of the words themselves: the more often they were used, the more they featured in discussion, the more they impacted us.

In this secondary level of information distribution – with the world as such tending to greater access limited by vaguer boundaries – could there be such a thing as information hoarding? Definitely. Compare this scenario you’re in to a ladder: you’re on the bottom rung, raw data is on the top-most rung. Before the raw data can reach you, the number of other filters it goes through on the way is increasing. Even though the greater challenge has been to engender new perspectives, there is also the challenge of leaving some information to be interpreted. On the primary level, the access to the information is increased. On the secondary level, it is classified more logically. On the third level, when it reaches you, you retain a responsibility still to decide:

1. How you use it


2. Why you use it, and


3. Whom do you use it with

Therefore, the ethics of this day and age have not been blurred by the repeated refinements but have only been rendered into a finer and finer line, bent this way and that by corporate greed, capitalist agendas and an overriding anarchism performed as an act of rebellion in most cases. The withholding of information does not spell misdemeanour but, more often than not, caution. This is the very nature of capitalism: to address greed by fostering the need to compete in its players. To be completely ethical in such a day and age is to be a fool.

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