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Originally Posted by shaka37
I can't point to one. I suppose one could make the claim that the nuclear bomb is science gone awry, but that logic has a major kink in it.
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As "bad" as a nuclear bomb might be, it isn't a good example of scientists not figuring out all the technical consequences of their work - it works exactly the way that scientists designed it to work. The problems with it are political.
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These fears, I think, are heightened by science fiction. It's the old chestnut: Scientist creates machine that will bring about change, discovery and power ... and the next thing you know, you have Doc Ock. Trust me, that's where these fears are born.
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Personally, I think it is the fears generated by bad movie science fiction (and maybe some SF literature). A lot of good science fiction examines science more fairly.
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I shudder to tell you what I do ... but ... I'm a journalist. Though, lately, I'm starting to question my profession. That aside, I did read through the threads, and I have read scholarly articles, and I have read news reports, and I have talked to people I know who understand science and things involving math (which because I am a journalist, I am predestined at birth not to understand <--- sorry, inside joke), and I'm satisfied that the "they know not what they have done" scenario doesn't appy here.
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Excellent. We need more journalists like yourself, who are interested in the science and are willing to educate themselves and others about it. The lack of journalists like that is half of our problem.