Editing 2072: Evaluating Tech Things
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Here [[Cueball]], upon hearing of a cool idea he hadn't thought of before, mentally measures it on a scale to decide if he can be excited about it, or should be worried about how it might affect humanity. This process is represented by an analog meter with one extreme labeled "This raises big questions about technology and society", and the other simply labeled "Haha Cool!". After weighing it out, he decides it's just plain cool and it will not adversely affect humanity at all. In the comic, it appears this mental decision took awhile, judging by the multiple panels showing him thinking, ambivalently rubbing his chin as the dial oscillates left and right, before he gives his response. | Here [[Cueball]], upon hearing of a cool idea he hadn't thought of before, mentally measures it on a scale to decide if he can be excited about it, or should be worried about how it might affect humanity. This process is represented by an analog meter with one extreme labeled "This raises big questions about technology and society", and the other simply labeled "Haha Cool!". After weighing it out, he decides it's just plain cool and it will not adversely affect humanity at all. In the comic, it appears this mental decision took awhile, judging by the multiple panels showing him thinking, ambivalently rubbing his chin as the dial oscillates left and right, before he gives his response. | ||
− | The title text refers to this mental weighing also being known as the ''Black Mirror''–''Mythbusters'' scale. | + | The title text refers to this mental weighing also being known as the ''Black Mirror''–''Mythbusters'' scale. '' {{w|Black Mirror}}'' is a British anthology series, mostly falling into the genre of near-future science fiction. Each episode deals with the impacts of current and/or potential technology on society, usually focused on the negative and even destructive effects that technological change can have. |
− | '' {{w|Black Mirror}}'' is a British anthology series, mostly falling into the genre of near-future science fiction. | ||
− | ''{{w|Mythbusters}}'' was a long-running science education/entertainment program in which the hosts explore myths, urban legends, and other various claims and concepts by designing and building experiments to test them. The show was famous for advancing the notion of experimentation to a broad audience, as well as for the elaborate and often | + | ''{{w|Mythbusters}}'' was a long-running science education/entertainment program in which the hosts explore myths, urban legends, and other various claims and concepts by designing and building experiments to test them. The show was famous for advancing the notion of experimentation to a broad audience, as well as for the elaborate and often destructive experiments they conducted (including a large number of dramatic explosions). |
− | [[ | + | [[Munroe]] appears to use ''Black Mirror'' as an emblem of the frightening and dangerous aspects of science and technology, and ''Mythbusters'' as benchmark for having fun with science by using it to do cool things. |
Worrying about the effect that technology has on our lives is a theme that has been explored before, in [[1215: Insight]]. | Worrying about the effect that technology has on our lives is a theme that has been explored before, in [[1215: Insight]]. |