Pro-Science?
by MikeGeneScientists have developed a better technique to map brain activity:
Using the microstimulation/MRI technique in conscious, alert primates holds great promise for determining the causal relationships between activation patterns across distributed neuronal circuits and specific behaviors.
Sounds interesting. But one has to wonder if Richard Dawkins' support for the Great Apes Project means he would like to see such experiments outlawed. Y'know, that's the project where experts and intellectuals want to confer human rights on other primates. What's that, you say? Oh, Macaques are only Old World monkeys? I see. Er, but wait. Do I see a"discontinuous mind" at work there?
Speaking of Dawkins, he continues to look the other way as his own university struggles with its costly battles against domestic terrorists. Oxford has restarted the construction of a new science lab. But just sit back and let this description sit in:
Builders working on a new research facility in Oxford are so afraid of reprisals from animal rights activists that they are wearing masks to hide their faces.
Here's some more:
Activists have made Oxford the main target of their campaign, which has become increasingly violent, with bombs being left in people's cars by the Animal Liberation Front. A number of university buildings have also been targeted in arson attacks.
Robin Webb, an ALF spokesman, warned that no university property would be considered safe"¦"¦Speak said it would discover the identity of the new contractor when the reopening of the site was announced.
It claims it has informers in the Home Office and the university, adding that finding out the name was only a matter of time.
The university has a projected completion date for the delayed laboratory but refuses to reveal it. The facility is likely to cost £20 million, but this does not include extra security costs.
Of course, Dawkins is not alone in his silence. There are many out there prattling on about how "pro-science" they are. You would think that self-proclaimed defenders of science would have biting and up-to-date criticisms of a movement that threatens a university because it dares to build a science lab. You would think they would be outraged at the idea you have to hide your identity in order to build a science lab. But no, for some reason, they just can't seem to get worked up about that. Maybe what they need is a fresh link. For example, if one of those masked construction workers is visiting Kansas and is assaulted by two white men in a pick-up truck big pick-up truck, maybe then they'll finally find reason to "defend science."
December 22nd, 2005 at 9:45 pm
a)Perhaps Dawkin's and others silence is due to the fact that he sees an attack on materialism as the biggest threat (marshall all your guns at your weakest point). These animal activists aren't really a threat to science but a fringe nuisance that will never gain majority support!
b)They genuinely fear the scenario you give at the end of your piece and don't want to become a target.
c)There is an underlying pathological hatred of anything remotely linked with the Christian God, these guys don't push his buttons.
d) all of the above
Comment by willo — December 22, 2005 @ 9:45 pm
December 27th, 2005 at 12:39 am
"But one has to wonder if Richard Dawkins' support for the Great Apes Project means he would like to see such experiments outlawed."
Tell us more about those experiments and we might be able to answer. Your link just says that the Macaque brains were directly stimulated by an electrode. It doesn't say anything about how it was done, what it was like for the macaque or what happened to it afterwords.
Was the animal in pain? In agony? Was it terrified? Did the experiment kill it or was it killed afterwards because the damage done to get at the brain with an electrode couldn't be repaired?
If I'm assured that the pain will be reasonable and that I'll survive and recover from the operation, I might volunteer myself for such an experiment. Of course, unlike a human, it's impossible to get informed consent from a macaque …
Comment by DataDoc — December 27, 2005 @ 12:39 am