An interesting "Time Line".

I discovered this list of “Definitive moments in Science” in a book called “Why Us” by the science author James Le Fanu.

I have amended it with a couple of very important events – not recorded in the original list (amended 11/09/17).

1940 – I was born!

1945 - The atomic bomb used in anger, for the first and only time, dropped on Japan.

1946 – The electron microscope reveals the internal structure of the cell.

1947 – The invention of the transistor launches the Electronic Age.

1953 – Theory of the formation of the chemical elements of life by nuclear fusion

within stars.

1953 – The laboratory simulation of the “origin of life”.

1953 – James Watson and Francis Crick discover the “Double Helix” of DNA.

1955 – The first polio vaccine.

1957 – The (then) Soviet Union launches Sputnik and the epoch of planetary exploration.

1960 – The oral contraceptive first marketed.

1961 – The genetic code deciphered.

1965 – The theory of the “Big Bang” creation of the Universe confirmed by the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation.

1967 – The first heart transplant.

1969 – US astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes first man on the moon.

1969 – James Lovelock proposes theory of a life-sustaining atmosphere.

1973 – The advent of genetic engineering.

1973 – First ever call on a mobile (cell) phone.

1973 - The invention of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain.

1974 – The discovery of “Lucy”, Australopithecus afarensis, dated 4 million years ago, our earliest known humanoid ancestor.

1974 – The first Grand Unified Theory of particle physics.
1977 - The first personal computer designed for the mass market.

1977 – The first complete genetic sequence of an organism.

1979 – Voyagers I and II relay data from Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune (and they are still going – now in deep interstellar space).

1979 – The first “test tube baby”.

1980 – The asteroid impact hypothesis for the mass extinction of dinosaurs.

1984 – The discovery of  “Turkana Boy”, the first complete skeleton of Homo erectus, dated 1.5 million years ago – the precursor of us, Homo sapiens.

1984 – Confirmation of the theory of “plate tectonics” – moving “plates” forming the continents.

1987 – Formulation of the “out of Africa” hypothesis of human evolution.

1989 – Launch of the World Wide Web (the internet).

1990 – The Decade of the Brain (the “plasticity” of the brain discovered – for example).

1999 – The Hubble space telescope observes the birth of stars, for the first time, in the constellation Taurus.

2000 – The first self-balancing, transport machine – the Segway Human Transporter.

2001 – Publication of the Human Genome.

2001 – Apple’s iPod invented.

2001 – Invention of the first “bio-artificial” liver – functioning in place of a liver.

2002 – The first birth control “patch” produced.

2003 – The world’s first battery/petrol “hybrid” car produced by Toyota.

2005 – YouTube invented.

2007 – Apple’s iPhone invented.

2007 – The first “fast radio burst” from interstellar space identified.

2010 – The Neanderthal Genome project completed showing interbreeding with ancient humans.

2015 – Traces of liquid water discovered on Mars.

2016 – Gravitational waves discovered for the first time from a “black hole “ merger”.

2017 – The first Earth-like planet which may have liquid water on its surface, located “just” 21 light                                                                                                                                                                          years away.

Pretty impressive, Huh! All since I was born!! Mmmm.

Now it could be virtual war!

There have been reports in the media about the possibility of the Americans developing autonomous robotic weapons to perform more and more front-line activities. These are robots that (they hope) will think logically and perform many of the tasks currently performed by human soldiers.

The whole reason behind this is to save soldier’s lives. Very laudable and should be encouraged. But I believe this misses the mark by a wide margin.

It misses the mark because it ignores the fact that no one ever really “wins” a war – the long term effects of wars are unforeseeable and normally very unpleasant. The “victors” would have incurred an enormous financial and human cost – to be felt for generations. And the cost to the “losers” is almost incalculable; tremendous damage to infrastructure and housing and huge loss of life in all sectors. So why fight?

I suggest that the robot “phase” be skipped over entirely and that those who wish to satisfy their urge to fight, destroy and to kill engage in a “virtual” war. Computer technology has advanced to the stage where such “wars” could be very realistic – a form of advanced computer game. To develop this concept a stage further robots should be devised that would  fight these “virtual” wars on our behalf!!

Think of all the money that would be saved! Think of all the lives that would be saved! Think of all the productive elements that could be directed into improving the underdeveloped regions of the world! Think of all the money, previously spent on military research, that could be used to improve the general human condition – health care (cancer for one thing), research into mental well-being (depression, schizophrenia and such like) that debilitates millions of people – and then there is food production.

It is completely illogical and defies rational thought that we (that is human beings) should spent vast amounts of money developing new and better ways to kill our fellow beings while millions are starving to death.

Why not fight “virtual” wars and spend the money saved to help our fellow beings!

Think about it.