DeeKnow’s Grotto

There's an article at the Boston-Globe about research work on analysing brain activity to detect a persons attitudes and instinctual responses to various stimulus. The alarming issue raised in the article is the prospect of development of a mechanism for brain scans to be used in the way that psych and drug tests are during job interviews these days.

"Could employees be scanned for violent or depressive impulses? Could soldiers be screened for homosexuality? It sounds like a Philip K. Dick vision of the future, but some predict this will be a bigger ethical issue than genetics."

In the thread on SlashDot about the article a poster observes the following about traditional drug-testing outcomes...

"Chemical screens for drug metabolites say absolutely nothing about whether you are a safety issue. If that was the issue, impairment tests would be used. (And a few intelligent employers do use impairment tests.) Drug screens are about what you're doing in your own time - they are a lifestyle screen. They're a loyalty oath to the Drug War. "

1:09:07 PM  

You'd hardly accuse me of being the worlds greatest rugby fan, but last night a few of us from work were invited by a vendor to watch the Auckland Blues beat the South African Cats Super-12 team at Eden Park. According to a commentator on the stuff-site today, the game was disapointing and loaded with handling-errors.

The only thing that I was really disapointed about was the distance we were seated from the cheer-leaders, and the inconvenience of having to walk back up the stairs to get a refill of beer. Despite the game quality, it was most-pleasing (as usual) to see a kiwi team beating a South African one.

1:07:06 PM  

that's right, my hang-over from last night has gone, and I've just remembered an appointment I've got with some mates at the paint-ball park in French-Pass just behind Cambridge.

The ammo you use in the game can really friggin sting, so I'm gonna slip on plenty of my camo-coloured outdoors clothing and start psyching myself up for the battle to come, which is the warm-up event for a stag-do for a mate of mine. Another hang-over to come tommorow I'm pickin.

1:05:47 PM