Sunday, August 31, 2014

Caesar, Civilization, Dealing With Change — and Building a Better World

After nearly five hundred years, the Roman Republic had grown from a small city-state to a major world power: and it was a mess.

I'm not talking about the chronic SNAFUs perpetrated by America's Congress.

If America's government was like the Roman Republic's, we might see the House ways and means committee lead an armed assault on the Senate: while their assassins took care of a filibuster the hard way. Yes: things could be worse.

Run-ins like the Catilinarian Conspiracy and Second Catilinarian conspiracy made the worst Washington mudslinging seem like a sedate poetry reading.

The Roman Senate finally named one of their members "dictator perpetuo" ("dictator in perpetuity") — hoping that Julius Caesar would solve their problems.

A few Senators got nervous: cutting the term, and Caesar's life, short.
"...And let us bathe our hands in Caesar's blood
Up to the elbows, and besmear our swords:
Then walk we forth, even to the market-place,
And waving our red weapons o'er our heads,
Let's all cry, 'Peace, freedom, and liberty!' "
(Brutus, in "Julius Caesar," Act III, Scene I; William Shakespeare [Hudson edition];
via Project Gutenberg)
That's fiction, of course: based on what happened on the Ides of March, 44 B.C., in Rome.

I'm willing to assume that Gaius Cassius Longinus, Marcus Junius Brutus, and the others involved, thought they were saving the Roman Republic from a tyrant.

The Republic went down anyway.

Julius Caesar's assassination left Rome with the same massive social, political, and economic problems, a Senate that couldn't stop fighting itself; and no effective leadership.

After two decades of civil war, Rome finally got another emperor: and the Roman Empire lasted nearly five centuries: about as long as the Republic.

We can look at the past in quite a few ways.

Poems, Movies, and Slow Progress


Folks in the 19th century often idealized what Edgar Allen Poe called "the glory that was Greece, and the grandeur that was Rome."

In movies, the Roman Empire has been shown as an emblem of depravity and excess, a source of order and prosperity, and sometimes little more than a cool setting for the actors.

There's a bit of truth to 'all of the above.' The ancient world, like today's, wasn't all good or all bad.

On the 'down' side, Greece and Rome, along with all the ancient world, practiced slavery. It was a bad idea then, and still is. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2414)

It took nearly two millennia to convince folks in some parts of the world that owning other people is wrong. I was around when America cleared some of the last vestiges of legalized slavery from our laws: and human trafficking is still an issue here.

It's slow progress: but we are making progress. (May 6, 2012)

The Grandeur that was Rome


On the 'up' side, Rome's Constitution, Senate, and laws gave many folks a measure of freedom: and some rights. Slaves were considered property, not people: but under Roman law, a slave could buy freedom; unlike some other systems.

Don't misunderstand me: slavery is a bad idea, and we shouldn't do it. But I think it's prudent to remember how the institution actually worked in different cultures and different times.

Romans were also very good engineers. We're still using some of their roads and aqueducts: partly because they used (what else?) Roman numerals, not the Hindu-Arabic numerals we adopted; partly because they apparently didn't see the point of building structures that weren't permanent.

If the ancient Romans had known that folks would be driving multi-ton vehicles more than sixty miles an hour: we'd probably be using even more of the old Roman road network, and that's another topic.


(From MM, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
("The Appian Way (Via Appia), a road connecting the city of Rome to the southern parts of Italy, remains usable even today."
(Wikipedia))

Fear, Flappers, and Europe Flambé


This post was going to be about something.

Let's see: Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar;" Edgar Allan Poe; movies; slavery; constitutional law and the Roman Senate. Really durable roads. Right.

After World War I, some folks were more than a bit apprehensive — understandably.

Someone shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914. Assorted diplomats, royals, and politicos stirred national pride and diplomacy into a marinade of old assumptions.

Europe's leaders baked that ragoût in a system of interlocking treaties — and about three months later, you had Europe flambé.

Ironically, the treaties were supposed to prevent a large-scale war: as I recall.

That's an enormous oversimplification, of course.

World War I left quite a few folks with the impression that the world would never be the same again.
"...Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world...."
("The Second Coming," W. B. Yeats (1919))
They were right, but the situation wasn't quite as bad as it seemed.

It's the End of Civilization as We Know It: And About Time!


Since then, we've survived jazz, flappers, the Great Depression, World War II, disco, polyester leisure suits, and Thighmaster commercials. Europeans killed each other in wholesale lots again, about two decades after the 'war to end all wars:' but have acted in a refreshingly civilized manner since, for the most part.

I don't think the European Union is perfect: but it's better than the mess we had before.

Maybe the Internet will do what the telephone and television didn't: bring humanity to its knees. I don't think so, and that's yet another topic. (February 20, 2014)

Occasionally, I run into someone who seems convinced that it's the end of civilization as we know it: and see that as a bad thing.

I think it's the "end of civilization as we know it, and about time," and that's not another topic. (February 9, 2014)

If I thought the world couldn't get any better than it was in the 1950s, I'd be terribly upset. As it is, I remember the 'good old days,' and they weren't.

I was one of 'those crazy kids' in the late 1960s and 1970s because I was convinced that humans could do better. A lot better.

I wasn't a Catholic at the time, and wasn't your standard-issue hippie, peacenik, or red-white-and-blue-blooded 'regular American.' It's not that I don't like conformity: I'm just not good at it. At all.

I didn't become a Catholic because the Church agreed with me. But after I (grudgingly) joined, I have been learning that what I thought made sense in conservative, liberal, and other, ideologies is what the Church has been teaching for two millennia.

The Code of Hammurabi, Plus 3,700 years: Looking at the Big Picture

"Human nature will not change. In any future great national trial, compared to the men of this, we shall have as weak and as strong, as silly and as wise, as bad and as good."
(Abraham Lincoln, Response to a serenade (November 10, 1864))
"2 But man himself begets mischief, as sparks fly upward."
(Job 5:7)
I talked about positive law, human-made rules; and natural law, universal principles; Friday.

Basically, positive law — the name doesn't mean that it's "positive" in the sense of good, affirmative, or constructive. The term comes from Latin, ius positum, and derives from the verb to posit — are human-made laws defining how folks may act, and what rights they have.

Sometimes positive law works. Sometimes it's the 'outmoded morality' some of my contemporaries didn't like. (August 29, 2014)

When positive law works, it's consistent with natural law: universal ethical principles built into the universe.

Positive law changes: and must change, as conditions we live in change. It varies from one culture to another, too. We're not all alike, we're not supposed to be, and that's yet again another topic.

Natural law is the same now as it was when Abram moved out of Ur.

Theft, for example, was was wrong then: and will still be wrong when the Code of Hammurabi, United Nations Charter, and whatever comes next, are seen as roughly contemporary. (Catechism, 1954-1960, 2259-2262, 2268-2270)

Part of our job is bringing the positive laws of our cultures closer to natural law. (Catechism, 1928-1942)

I don't think we'll have a perfect society two millennia, or ten millennia, from now. But I think we have a reasonable hope of building a better world. We certainly must try.
"...We ... have a mandate to maintain what is true and just in our societies, change what is not, and build a better world for future generations...."
(May 18, 2014)
These posts may be better-organized than today's, or maybe not:
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Friday, August 29, 2014

Regeneration: Getting Closer to Growing Lost Organs

Too many folks die, waiting for a compatible donor organ. We can't coax a patient's body into growing a new heart or kidney: yet.

But we can build made-to-order bladders, and scientists have grown a new thymus: inside a mouse. It's a first step.
  1. Growing a Thymus from Scratch
  2. First Steps: Growing Liver Buds
  3. Replacement Parts, Grown to Order: Bladders Today; Hands — Eventually, Maybe
This post has a sort of epilogue about what changes, what doesn't, and why I like living in 'the future.'

Starfish Do It - - -



(From Natural History Museum in London, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
(" 'Comet' of Linckia guildingi, showing starfish body regrowing from a single arm"
(Wikipedia))

Some starfish eat clams. So do humans. Folks whose livelihood depended on the clam harvest sometimes got frustrated when starfish got at the clams before they did: and killed the echinoderms by cutting them to pieces. and tossing the pieces back into the ocean.

I don't think they were being vindictive. Starfish earned a reputation for being tough critters.

We don't do that as much these days: partly because folks noticed that starfish grow new limbs: and sometimes severed limbs grow new starfish.

- - - Skinks Do It - - -


Some geckos, skinks, lizards, salamanders and tuatara, can 'shed' a tail or limb: escaping while a predator catches the severed part. Scientists call this startling ability autotomy. At least two species of African spiny mice have breakaway skin. (Apathetic Lemming of the North (June 13, 2013)

Those amphibians and reptiles regrow their limbs. Remarkably, the mice grow new skin: complete with hair follicles, sweat glands, and little to no scarring.

Humans occasionally regrow lost fingertips and toes, and can sometimes regrow injured parts of our liver. But the new toes and fingers look odd, without fingerprints and with squarish nails: or no nails at all.

More:

- - - Why Can't We?


If starfish and some mice can regenerate complete missing parts: why can't we?

Right now, we don't know. Not for sure. It probably has something to do with our immune system, and the way our bodies deal with injury.

At least some amphibians have a lot fewer lymphocytes (white blood cells) while they're regrowing missing parts, and don't grow connective tissue over wounds the way we do.

The good news is that we've got really effective immune systems. Even plagues like the Black Death didn't manage to kill off more than about half the population in Europe.

We still have influenza epidemics, and there's an ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa: but we've learned a lot since the 1300s, and are learning more. (June 13, 2014; February 12, 2014; January 13, 2013)

Regenerating severed limbs is still a long way off, but like I said: we're learning.

1. Growing a Thymus from Scratch



(From SPL/Science Photo Library, via BBC News; used w/o permission.)
("The thymus produces T-cells, a part of the immune system"
(BBC News))
"Whole organ 'grown' in world first"
James Gallagher, BBC News (August 24, 2014)

"A whole functional organ has been grown from scratch inside an animal for the first time, say researchers in Scotland.

"A group of cells developed into a thymus - a critical part of the immune system - when transplanted into mice.

"The findings, published in Nature Cell Biology, could pave the way to alternatives to organ transplantation.

"Experts said the research was promising, but still years away from human therapies.

"The thymus is found near the heart and produces a component of the immune system, called T-cells, which fight infection...."
Until we're able to regenerate lost or damaged organs, some of us will need transplants.

That's why I'm excited about this research. It looks like someone needing a new organ may be able to grow one. We're already able to grow replacements for the body's simpler parts:
"...There are already patients with lab-grown blood vessels, windpipes and bladders. These have been made by 'seeding' a patient's cells into a scaffold which is then implanted."
(James Gallagher, BBC News)
The technique used to grow the mouse thymus involves cells from embryos. Doing the same for humans presents problems: some technical, one ethical.

Technical Issues


Since its DNA is from another critter, the little mousy thymus isn't compatible with the host mouse. On top of that, researchers aren't quite certain that the new thymus will stop growing when it should.

For humans, a replacement thymus grown with this technique would be subject to transpalant rejection. Our immune systems are pretty good at killing off anything inside us that's not on the body's 'approved' list: including many transplanted organs.

That's why doctors are so fussy about getting a good match for transplants, and why my replacement parts are biologically inert.

Ethics


The big problem with this technique is where researchers would get cells for the new thymus. Killing a very young human to help an older one is not right. We can't "...do evil that good may come of it...." (Romans 3:8)

Actually, we can. We've got free will. But we shouldn't.

Since I'm a Catholic, I have no problem with organ transplants: provided that someone isn't disabled or killed in the process. Health is a "precious gift." We're expected to take care of our health: within reason. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2288-2296)

Bottom line, doing something bad so that something good will happen isn't right. (Catechism, 1756)

I'm not upset that one mouse had to be killed to give another mouse a new thymus. I like animals, recognize that humans are animals, but know that we're not just animals; and that's another topic. Topics. (July 27, 2012; August 31, 2011)

2. First Steps: Growing Liver Buds

"Tiny stem-cell livers grown in laboratory"
James Gallagher, BBC News (July 3, 2013)

"Tiny functioning human livers have been grown from stem cells in the laboratory by scientists in Japan.

"They said they were 'gobsmacked' when liver buds, the earliest stage of the organ's development, formed spontaneously.

"The team, reporting their findings in Nature, hope that transplanting thousands of liver buds could reverse liver failure.

"Experts welcomed the findings, describing them as 'exciting'.

"Scientists around the world are trying to grow organs in the lab to overcome a shortage of organ donors.

"Some patients already have bladders made from their own cells, but dense solid organs such as the liver and kidneys are much harder to produce...."
The little liver buds hooked themselves into the circulatory system of the host mice and started acting like miniature livers. This is good news for folks who might need a new liver: decades from now.

There's a lot more research to be done before this is ready for humans, though. Again, one of the problems is that the scientists aren't sure that the liver buds would stop growing when they're supposed to.

There may be other technical issues, including the possibility that medications used in this procedure are toxic for humans. We've got quite a bit in common with mice: but we're not mice.

I trust that the human stem cells they used came from someone who survived the extraction.

We're expected to learn more about how things work. Using science and developing new technology are part of being human. Ethics apply, of course, just like anything else we do. (Catechism, 2292-2295)

Using stem cells isn't wrong. Killing someone to get their stem cells, kidneys, or anything else: that's what's wrong.

3. Replacement Parts, Grown to Order: Bladders Today; Hands — Eventually, Maybe



(From BBC News, used w/o permission.)
((left) "Is the idea of growing hands a myth or a far-off reality?" (right) "A bladder scaffold is used to hold together the new structure"
(BBC News))
"Will we ever grow replacement hands?"
James Gallagher, BBC News (March 20, 2012)

"It might seem unbelievable, but researchers can grow organs in the laboratory. There are patients walking around with body parts which have been designed and built by doctors out of a patient's own cells.

"Over the past few weeks on the BBC News website we have looked at the potential for bionic body parts and artificial organs to repair the human body. Now we take a look at 'growing-your-own'.

"There is a pressing need. A shortage of available organs means many die on waiting lists and those that get an organ must spend a lifetime on immunosuppressant drugs to avoid rejection.

"The idea is that using a patient's own stem cells to grow new body parts avoids the whole issue of rejection as well as waiting for a donor.

"Dr Anthony Atala, director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, US, has made breakthroughs in building bladders and urethras...."
Besides sidestepping dangers of tissue rejection, "using a patient's own stem cells" means that the donor is also the patient: avoiding some ethical complications.

I'm an adult, in moderately good health — diabetes and a few neurological glitches aside — so I've got stem cells in my bone marrow, intestines, and a few other places. I can afford to lose a fraction of that supply: just as I get along fine after medicos take another blood sample.

I suppose someone might have religious objections to now-routine medical procedures like taking blood samples or biopsies: but I don't. Not if it's part of health maintenance or therapy, and doesn't expose someone to unreasonable risk.

More:

Four Levels of Complexity

"...He breaks tissue-building into four levels of complexity.
  • "Flat structures, such as the skin, are the simplest to engineer as they are generally made up of just the one type of cell.
  • Tubes, such as blood vessels and urethras, which have two types of cells and act as a conduit.
  • Hollow non-tubular organs like the bladder and the stomach, which have more complex structures and functions.
  • Solid organs, such as the kidney, heart and liver, are the most complex to engineer. They are exponentially more complex, have many different cell types, and more challenges in the blood supply.
" 'We've been able to implant the first three in humans. We don't have any examples yet of solid organs in humans because its much more complex,' Dr Atala told the BBC...."
(James Gallagher, BBC News)
James Gallagher's article outlines Dr. Atala's technnique for growing bladders, one of the third-most-complex items from that list.

They start with a tissue sample from the bladder being repaired. The sample is about half the size of a U.K. postage stamp. A supply of cells is grown from that sample. The process takes about a month. Meanwhile, a scaffold or mold shaped like the bladder gets built.

Once they've got enough cells on hand, they coat the scaffold: one layer of cells at a time. The coated scaffold goes into what Mr. Gallagher called an oven for two weeks. Since the "oven" mimics conditions inside the human body, I'd think "aquarium" might be slightly more accurate.

Either way, after two weeks the bladder is ready to be implanted into the patient: scaffold and all. The patient's body eventually absorbs the scaffold, leaving a working bladder.

Bladders and Growing a Rat Heart


A bladder looks and acts like a balloon: sort of. What make growing a bladder tricky is getting the little spirals, lines, and circles of muscle fibers working properly; and connecting them to blood vessels and the parasymathetic nervous system.

The parasympathetic nervous system is part of the autonomic nervous system. We generally aren't aware of that part of our body's operating system, until something goes wrong: and that's another topic.

Alexis Carrel started growing a sample from a chicken embryo's heart January 17, 1929. He died November 5, 1944. The tissue lived until September 1946. So far, nobody's managed to repeat Carell's experiment.

But scientists are still learning. Dr Doris Taylor's team grew a rat's heart that kept beating for eight days. Granted, the heart worked at 2% capacity: but that it worked at all is remarkable.

More:

Brand-New Tech, Same Old Challenges


I'm pretty sure that someone will find ways to misuse regenerative medicine. We humans have a knack for getting into trouble. "But man himself begets mischief, as sparks fly upward," as Job 5:7 puts it.

We also have a knack for evading responsibility: or trying to. After our first parents broke the deal they had with God, Adam tried blaming his wife: and God. (Genesis 3:12)

That didn't end well.


("Expulsion from the Garden of Eden," Thomas Cole, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)

New Tech, New Rules, Same Old Principles



(Commercial ad of the Dormans of Stafford engine company in The Times, via Dormans and Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
(Ad in The Times, February 24, 1919.)

Back in my 'good old days,' a half-century back, some folks claimed that science and technology made the 'outmoded morality' we'd been working with obsolete.

Others apparently believed that moral decay was caused by newfangled gadgets like the telephone and television: and, of course, that 'religion of the antichrist,' evolution.

Folks who claimed that science and technology made 'conventional morality' obsolete were right: sort of.

For example, social conventions and laws that worked when a horse was the fastest thing on the road don't necessarily apply when you add motorized vehicles to the mix.

The United Kingdom's Locomotive Acts of the 1860s and 1870s, and their equivalents in America, weren't completely daft. We still have vehicle registration, registration plates, speed limits, and maximum vehicle weights.

Eventually, legislators realized that making automobiles stay below four miles an hour in the country, two miles an hour in cities, and have a man carrying a red flag walk in front of road vehicles hauling multiple wagons was — daft.

Some things haven't changed, though, and won't. For example, theft was wrong and aiding strangers was right in Abraham's day: and now. The Decalog wouldn't show until Moses' time, but I think we see hospitality as a virtue in Genesis 18 — and that's another topic.

Positive Law, Isus Positum: Human-Made Rules


The Roman Republic's five-tier status system worked pretty well. Someone could have status civitatis, status libertatis, status familiae, or be alieni iuris. We'd think there was a sixth tier, slaves: but they weren't persons, legally.

Remember, I said the Republic's system worked "pretty well." It wasn't perfect, but the Republic lasted for five centuries before the Senate bollixed things up to the point where they needed an emperor — and that's another topic.

The Roman Republic's laws and constitution are an example of ius positum, or positive law: human-made laws that define how folks may act, and what rights they have.

The 'conventional morality' that some folks got fed up with in 'the good old days' was positive law: something that folks who were mostly Anglo-Saxon Protestant men in America had concocted. Like Roman law, it had worked pretty well. But by the 1960s, parts of that set of positive law were long overdue for overhaul.

I do not miss living in a society where "she's as smart as a man" was supposed to be a compliment, and a person had to look like me to get a decent job. I remember the 'good old days:' and they weren't.

Natural Law, Lex Naturalis: Universal Principles, Changing Applications


Folks at least as far back as Plato and Aristotle discussed what we call natural law, lex naturalis.

I'm Catholic, so I accept St. Thomas Aquinas' idea that natural law is universal, unchanging, and designed by God.

Natural law is 'programmed' into us, part of reality that we can understand through reason. It lets us recognize good and evil, truth and lies. (Catechism, 1954)

Natural law does not change: doing evil so that good will follow is never acceptable; the Golden Rule always applies; we must always respect our neighbor, and our neighbor's conscience. (Matthew 7:12; Catechism, 1789, 1958)

How natural law is applied varies a great deal. Folks in different cultures and eras face different circumstances. But the underlying principles of natural law do not change. (Catechism, 1957)

The Catechism has a bit more to say about natural law: 1954-1960, 2259-2262, 2268-2270.

When our first parents decided to break God's rule we lost the harmony we had with God and with this world. But we were still human: made in the image of God, with dominion over this world — and the responsibility that goes with that power.

Are free to choose what we do, or do not do. Then, for good or ill, we live with the consequences of our decisions: and so do all generations that follow. 1

Living in 'The Future'


A few years or decades from now, we may be debating whether it's okay for someone to grow an extra brain, or marry his/her clone. Maybe that sounds like "science fiction," but —

I'm seeing my computer monitor through clip-on lenses, a surgeon replaced my original hip joints with metal-and-synthetic replacement parts, and my brain's neurochemistry is maintained by high-strength antidepressants. Although quite a bit of me artificial, I'm not quite a cyborg.

However, some of my internal and clip-on tech didn't exist when I was born, so I'm hardly in a position to rant about the supposed evils of science and technology.

I like being able to walk and think without fighting my body. That doesn't bother me, since the replacement parts and chemical tweaking are strictly therapeutic, the contemporary equivalent of licking a wound.

Maintaining or restoring health and normal function is okay. Making fitness or appearance my top priority: not so much. (Catechism, 2288-2291)

As I've said before, God gave us brains: and expects us to use them. (February 25, 2010)

I've been living in "the future" for quite a while now: and loving it. And that's — what else? Another topic. (February 9, 2014; June 14, 2013)

Yet more of my take on the importance of not being daft:
A bit of what the Church says about ethics and medicine:
1 You guessed it. There's more about free will in the Catechism: 31, 355-361, 373-379, 386-390, 396-409, 1730-1738, 1778, 2402.
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Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Love is Mandatory, 'Like' is Optional: Praying for Peace in Iraq

"1 First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,

"for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. "
(2 Timothy 1-2)
A post on Google Plus (August 25, 2014) let me know about Bishop Saad Sirop Hanna's challenge or request for a half-hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament at a particular time today.
The time was 6:00 p.m. Iraq time. Here in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, that's 10:00 a.m. — and there's a Eucharistic adoration chapel about a half-mile north of my home.


(Me, at the Eucharistic adoration chapel in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, this morning.)

It didn't take me 30 minutes to go through both prayers I found: one from the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Iraq; the other from Pope Francis. I spent the rest of the time 'praying' in the sense that I thought about what needs to happen: in the world, and in me.

Basically, we need to:
It's like my Lord said:
..."24 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.' "
(Matthew 22:40)
Loving my neighbor is mandatory. Liking my neighbor is optional. Approving of what my neighbor does is occasionally impossible: particularly when my neighbor does something I know is wrong.

Loving disapproval isn't the beam-in-my-eye hypocrisy of Matthew 7:1-5, and that's another topic.

I hope and pray that Iraq, and the world, learns how to settle conflicts with reason, justice, and mercy. My guess is that cobbling together a globe-spanning 'Council of Humanity' will take centuries. But I think it will be worth the effort. And that's yet another topic.

More:
Maybe you've had enough of my ideas for now.

If not, here's part of my take on taking 'love of neighbor' seriously:
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Sunday, August 24, 2014

Charter's Internet Outage, Speculation, and "The Simpsons"


(From DownDetector, via Network World; used w/o permission.)

Our household's Internet connection fizzled, few minutes after 4:00 yesterday afternoon. My son reconnected us a few times, something to do with DNS, I understand.

Each time, the new connection stopped rather promptly. Finally, around 10:00, he reached a working landline connection to Charter — and heard a recording that said, basically, 'we know there's a problem, we're trying to fix it, really.'

This morning, service was back: and I was only about six hour behind on work that depends partly on what's online.

Looks like we had company:
"...Charter Communications, the 4th largest cable operator in the US, suffered major internet outages that some news outlets reported to be nationwide. Charter offers Internet to 'more than 27.6 million customers in 29 states.' If you zoom out on the map, then you see why it appears to be a nationwide outage.

"Many customers took to DownDetector, which peaked at 7,982 reports of being down within the last 24 hours and over 8,000 on August 23. For today, August 24, the outage heat map shows reports of Charter still being down in 'Homewood, St. Louis, Madison, Asheville, Plant City, Greenville, Ballwin, Athens, Chicago, and Birmingham.' On Saturday, Charter was reportedly also down in Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta...."
(Ms. Smith, Privacy and Security Fanatic, Opinion, Network World)
I don't know whether the two maps in Ms. Smith's op-ed were from different times during the outage, represent different degrees of 'outage,' or — something else.


(From DownDetector, via Network World; used w/o permission.)

When I checked the news this afternoon, Charter apparently still hasn't announced what caused this outage. It may, as Ms. Smith implies, be because the company's brass hats are embarrassed about being hacked.

On the other hand, I think it's possible that Charter's upper-level management may not know what happened, themselves. Whatever went wrong, it affected a complex network that's roughly 3,000 miles across.

The technicians who fixed the problem may not know what went wrong — and won't, until they have a chance to compare notes and discuss what they found.

It's possible, although I think unlikely, that this continent-spanning SNAFU happened because somebody tried playing PONG on Charter's network hardware.

Frustrating as being cut off from the rest of the world, apart from pre-Information-Age tech, was: the incident had a funny side.

The St. Cloud Times reported that "...the last tweet on Charter's Twitter page was a retweet from Entertainment Weekly regarding the FXX mega marathon of 'The Simpsons.'..."

News and views:
Oddly enough, being offline for well over 12 hours didn't produce appreciation for a low-tech world.

I don't miss the 'good old days,' partly because I've got a pretty good memory —
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"All are Equal Before God" — Rights of Humanity and a Right of the Aggressor

James Foley is dead: the photojournalist, not the movie director. If someone had paid the $132,000,000 USD that ISIS apparently wanted, he might be alive. Or maybe not: there's a reason for United States policy about not paying ransom.

Folks who engage in kidnapping or terrorism have to have flexible ethics: I'll get back to that.

I learned that James Foley was Catholic from a post by Rebecca Hamilton, on Google Plus — indirectly. For a while, I thought I'd be writing about the Rosary, prayer, and family. Then I ran into this:
"...As Islamic State fighters have swept through northern Iraq, Pope Francis has repeatedly spoken out against the violence that has seen thousands of Christians and others, including Shia Muslims and members of the Yazidi sect, killed or driven from their homes.

"He said this week that Western countries would be justified in acting to stop the 'unjust' aggression...."
(Reuters Africa)
Ever since the European branch of Western Civilization took off, a few centuries back, "Western countries" have generally been the most active in world affairs: for good or ill.

Even so, saying "...that Western countries would be justified..." seemed oddly specific. The Catholic Church is literally catholic, universal. (July 25, 2014)

That started me wondering: was there something about the mess in Iraq and Syria that made it okay for only one set of countries to stop unjust aggressors?

I still think the 'Catholic' connection with the Foley family's loss is interesting, so I put excerpts from what I'd found at the end of this post: along with part of a transcript of what Pope Francis said.1

Unhappy About Change


Apparently ISIS, the folks who killed James Foley, aren't happy with today's world. They seem to yearn for the 'good old days,' when they believe Islam measured up to their standards and preferences. They're probably quite sincere: and certainly willing to kill anyone who doesn't agree with them.

Victims of their zeal include  Shia Muslims, Druze, Mandeans, Shabaks, Yazidis, and Christians. You'll find more about ISIS at "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant." (Wikipedia)

Folks being unhappy about change isn't a uniquely Muslim experience.

I run into Catholics who seem convinced that we should return to the 'good old days' — as they remember them. Catholics who yearn for yesteryear occasionally get together and form their own little micro-church, but don't seem inclined to kill outsiders.

I'd say 'Christians are better than that:' but realize that now and then some of us go rogue.

The nearest thing America has had to ISIS are groups like the Ku Klux Klan: folks who seem convinced that they're 'protecting' America from 'foreigners' and our 'evil' ways.

Happily, America is nowhere near as WASPish as it was in my youth: but a burning cross does show up occasionally, expressing disapproval of 'un-American' people. (January 6, 2013; April 7, 2011); January 22, 2010)

Terrorism and Options


Kidnapping, terrorism, and torture, aren't just unpleasant. Subjecting others to that sort of pressure is wrong. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2297)

You've probably heard that 'Christian' rulers sometimes indulged in this sort of thing. That's true. Sadly, Catholic pastors sometimes did not protest these actions: and sometimes committed the same crimes. It's still wrong. (Catechism, 2297-2298)

I suppose one could argue that if a nation's ruler does something, it can't be a crime: but "legal" and "right" aren't the same thing.

I'm savvy enough to realize that some things, like which side of the road we drive on, have no universal "right" or "wrong." But I also recognize that natural law, ethical principles woven into the universe, are as real as physical laws: and that's another topic. (October 6, 2013)

Sadly, sometimes people are killed because they don't worship the 'right' way. When that happens, there are decisions. Should folks who are targeted head for the hills, let themselves be killed, start worshiping the 'right' way and hope for the best, or try to stop the attack?

Here's what Pope Francis said about stopping an unjust aggressor —

Stopping an Unjust Aggressor

"...Alan Holdren:

"Your Holiness, my name is Alan Holdren, I work for Catholic News Agency, ACI Prensa in Lima, Peru, and EWTN. As you know, United States military forces have just begun to bomb terrorists in Iraq in order to prevent a genocide, to protect the future of minorities – I'm also thinking of the Catholics in your care. Do you approve of this American bombing?

"Pope Francis:

"Thank you for your very clear question. In these cases, where there is an unjust aggression, I can only say that it is licit to stop the unjust aggressor. I emphasize the word: 'stop'. I'm not saying drop bombs, make war, but stop the aggressor. The means used to stop him would have to be evaluated. Stopping an unjust aggressor is licit. But we also need to remember! How many times, with this excuse of stopping an unjust aggressor, the powers have taken over peoples and carried on an actual war of conquest! One nation alone cannot determine how to stop an unjust aggressor. After the Second World War, there was the idea of the United Nations: that is where discussion was to take place, to say: Is this an unjust aggressor? It would seem so. How do we stop him?' This alone, nothing else. Second, minorities. Thanks for using that word. Because people say to me: 'the Christians, the poor Christians…' And it is true, they are suffering, and martyrs, yes, there are many martyrs. But there are also men and women, religious minorities, not all Christians, and all are equal before God. To stop an unjust aggressor is a right of humanity, but it is also a right of the aggressor to be stopped in order not to do evil...."
(In-flight press conference)
We live in a world that has seen Mohandas Gandhi and Adolph Hitler, Mother Teresa and Osama bin Laden. If polite requests would stop the Hitlers and bin Ladens of this world from arranging the deaths of others, we would have no need for military force.

Unhappily, there are folks who are not nice: at all. Since being alive is preferable to being dead, we are allowed to defend ourselves. This principle, applied to outfits like nations, is called just war. (Catechism, 2307-2309)

Basically, using military force is acceptable if — the damage inflicted by the aggressor is "lasting, grave, and certain;" all other alternatives are "impractical or ineffective;" there is a reasonable chance for success; and using arms will not "produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated." (Catechism, 2309)

International Authority and Working With What We've Got


I don't trust the United Nations any more than I trust the American Congress. Flawed as they are, though, these are institutions we must deal with.

I hope that humanity will eventually cobble together an international authority "with the necessary competence and power" to end war and settle disputes with justice and mercy. (Catechism, 2308; "Gaudium et Spes," 79)

That won't happen in my lifetime, or my children's. My guess is that creating a close equivalent of Tennyson's "Federation of the world" will take generations. Centuries. And that's yet another topic. (May 26, 2014)

I'm quite sure that folks targeted by ISIS don't have time to wait for a perfect world. We must work with what we have.

Loving Neighbors: No Matter What


I think that Pope Francis is right, that "...it is also a right of the aggressor to be stopped in order not to do evil...."

The rules are simple: love God, love my neighbor, see everyone as my neighbor. (Matthew 5:43-44; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 10:25-30; Catechism, 1825)

Sometimes that means trying to stop my neighbor from doing something wrong, like driving drunk: or killing folks who don't worship the 'right' way.

By the way, even if I had the power to make others agree with me about my faith: I wouldn't be allowed to use it.

As a Catholic, I must support religious freedom: for everyone. And that's yet again another topic. (Catechism, 1738, 2104-2109)

More of what I think about living in a big world:
Background:
News and views:
1 Excerpt from News and views:
"Journalist Foley's parents, after call with pope, call for prayer and action"
Reuters Africa (August 22, 2014)
"Slain journalist James Foley on praying the rosary in captivity UPDATED"
Catherine Harmon, The CWR Blog, The Catholic World Report)

"The news broke late yesterday that Islamic State jihadists executed freelance journalist James Foley and posted a video of his beheading. Foley, 40, had been missing for two years while covering the conflict in Syria. I am not going to link to the video or include screen shots from it, but I will share another link that has been circulating since the news of Foley's brutal death: an article he wrote for the alumni magazine of Marquette University, his alma mater. The piece is about the time Foley spent imprisoned in Libya in 2011:
"I began to pray the rosary. It was what my mother and grandmother would have prayed. 
I said 10 Hail Marys between each Our Father. It took a long time, almost an hour to count 100 Hail Marys off on my knuckles. And it helped to keep my mind focused.

"Clare and I prayed together out loud. It felt energizing to speak our weaknesses and hopes together, as if in a conversation with God, rather than silently and alone. …
"Update 8/22: The Vatican confirmed Thursday that Pope Francis telephoned Foley's family and offered his condolences:
"Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said the pope phoned relatives of the late James Foley on Aug. 21 to console them for their loss and assure them of his prayers.

"The call to the Foley family in Rochester, New Hampshire, came in the afternoon New Hampshire time. Father Lombardi released no additional details. …

"President Obama called Foley's parents, John and Diane Foley, Aug. 20 before addressing the nation about their son's death and told them: 'We are all heartbroken.'

"When the president was making his televised remarks about James Foley's death, his parents spoke to reporters on the front yard of their home.

"'We thank God for the gift of Jim. We are so, so proud of him,' said Diane Foley.

"She added that he was 'a courageous, fearless journalist -- the best of America.'

"John Foley told reporters: 'We think his strength came from God,' and his wife interjected: 'We know it did.' "
"Journalist Foley's parents, after call with pope, call for prayer and action"
Reuters Africa (August 22, 2014)

"The parents of James Foley, the American journalist killed by Islamic State militants in Iraq, on Friday called for prayer and support to free the remaining captives held by Islamic State fighters.

" 'We do pray, we beg the international community to help the remaining hostages,' his mother, Diane Foley, said in an interview with her husband, John, on MSNBC. 'We just pray that they will be set free.'

"Their plea comes after a long conversation with Pope Francis, who the Vatican said called the couple on Thursday afternoon to offer his condolences and support....

"...The United States has opened a criminal investigation into Foley's death and said the Islamic State is an imminent threat to U.S. interests. President Barack Obama also has called for a united international front to combat the group, which is still holding other hostages.

"Foley's parents said they drew "huge comfort" from their conversation with the pope, who himself was grieving the loss of relatives who died earlier this week in a car crash in Argentina....

"...As Islamic State fighters have swept through northern Iraq, Pope Francis has repeatedly spoken out against the violence that has seen thousands of Christians and others, including Shia Muslims and members of the Yazidi sect, killed or driven from their homes.

"He said this week that Western countries would be justified in acting to stop the 'unjust' aggression.

" 'Pope Francis, like Jesus, loves, like Jim. He understood Jim's heart,' Diane Foley said of her son, who 'was able to draw strength from prayer' during his capture...."
"In-Flight Press Conference of His Holiness Pope Francis from Korea to Rome"
Apostolic Journey of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Republic of Korea on the Occasion of the 6th Asian Youth Day (13-18 August 2014), Papal Flight (August 18, 2014)
(From c.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2014/august/documents/papa-francesco_20140818_corea-conferenza-stampa.html (August 23, 2014))

"Sung Jin Park:

"...you spoke first of all to the families of the victims of the Se Wol ferry disaster and comforted them. I have two questions. First, what were your feelings when you met them? Second, aren't you concerned that your gesture might be misunderstood politically?

"Pope Francis:

"Whenever you find yourself facing human suffering, you have to do what your heart tells you to. Then people will say: 'He did it for this or that political reason'; let them say what they want. But when you think of these men and woman, these fathers and mothers who have lost their children, their brothers and sisters, of the immense pain of such a disaster, I don’t know, my heart.. I am a priest and I feel the need to draw near! That's how I feel; that is the first thing. I know that the comfort that any word of mine might give is no cure, it doesn't bring the dead back to life, but human closeness at these times gives us strength, there is solidarity… I remember that as Archbishop of Buenos Aires I experienced two catastrophes like this one: a fire in a dance hall, where a pop music concert was being held, and 193 persons died. Another time, a trains disaster – I believe 120 people died. At the time, I felt the same way: a need to draw close. Human suffering is powerful, and if at these sad times we draw closer, we help one another greatly. As for that final question, I would like to add something. I took this (holding up a ribbon). After I carried it for half a day – I took it for solidarity with them – somebody came up to me and said: It’s better to take that off… You should be neutral …' 'But listen, where human suffering is involved, you can't be neutral'. That was my answer; that's how I feel...."

"...Alan Holdren:

"Your Holiness, my name is Alan Holdren, I work for Catholic News Agency, ACI Prensa in Lima, Peru, and EWTN. As you know, United States military forces have just begun to bomb terrorists in Iraq in order to prevent a genocide, to protect the future of minorities – I'm also thinking of the Catholics in your care. Do you approve of this American bombing?

"Pope Francis:

"Thank you for your very clear question. In these cases, where there is an unjust aggression, I can only say that it is licit to stop the unjust aggressor. I emphasize the word: 'stop'. I'm not saying drop bombs, make war, but stop the aggressor. The means used to stop him would have to be evaluated. Stopping an unjust aggressor is licit. But we also need to remember! How many times, with this excuse of stopping an unjust aggressor, the powers have taken over peoples and carried on an actual war of conquest! One nation alone cannot determine how to stop an unjust aggressor. After the Second World War, there was the idea of the United Nations: that is where discussion was to take place, to say: Is this an unjust aggressor? It would seem so. How do we stop him?' This alone, nothing else. Second, minorities. Thanks for using that word. Because people say to me: 'the Christians, the poor Christians…' And it is true, they are suffering, and martyrs, yes, there are many martyrs. But there are also men and women, religious minorities, not all Christians, and all are equal before God. To stop an unjust aggressor is a right of humanity, but it is also a right of the aggressor to be stopped in order not to do evil....

"...Paloma García Ovejero:

"But afterwards: Mexico, Philadelphia?

"Pope Francis:

"No, I'll tell you why. This year, Albania was planned, that is true. There are those who say that the Pope tends to start everything from the periphery. But no, Why am I going to Albania? For two important reasons. First, because they have managed to form a government – we think of the Balkans! – a government of national unity between Muslims, Orthodox and Catholics, with an interreligious Council which is very helpful and balanced. And this is working well, it's harmonious. The Pope's presence is a way of saying to everyone: 'We can all work together!' I felt it would be a real help to that noble people. And another thing: If we think of the history of Albania, it was, in terms of religion, the one communist country whose Constitution enshrined practical atheism. If you went to Mass, it was a violation of the Constitution. One of the ministers told me that at the time – here I want to be precise in the figures – 1,820 churches were torn down. Torn down! Orthodox churches, Catholic churches… And other churches were turned into cinemas, theaters, dance halls… I felt I should go: It is close by, it can be done in a day… Then next year, I would like to go to Philadelphia..."
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Friday, August 22, 2014

Build Your Own Robot Swarm — or — Angular Automatons and Cuckoo Clocks

1,024 little robots got together at Harvard, making the letter "K" and drawing a star. What they do doesn't look as sophisticated as many marching band halftime formations — but it's a good start on collective artificial intelligence.

Meanwhile, Harvard and MIT's angular automatons don't do much except fold themselves into crablike shapes, and scuttle away: today.
  1. Harvard's Robot Swarm
  2. MIT's Origami Robots

The Digesting Duck that Didn't, Cuckoo Clocks, and Pygmalion



(From Wikipedia and Boston Dynamics, used w/o permission.)

Automatons have come a long way since Jacques de Vaucanson built his Digesting Duck. It didn't actually digest anything, by the way.

Geneva's singing bird boxes did sing, though: and automatons have performed on clocks from the Cathédrale Notre-Dame of Strasbourg's to cuckoo clocks.

More recently, an animatronic dinosaur appeared in "Jurasic Park," Sony's AIBO played soccer, and Boston Dynamics' Petman robot tests hazmat suits.

As I said last week, tales of automatons are ancient. Ovid's Pygmalion is a bit like today's 'mad scientist,' but Ovid's narrative has Aphrodite giving the statue life. All Pygmalion did was carve a life-like statue: and get infatuated.

Interestingly, in Greek stories about Talos that I've found, the robot guard doesn't turn on its master. The 'mockery of life terrorizes villagers' routine is a fairly recent development.

Victor Frankenstein, The Phantom Creeps, and All That


The Golem of Prague story may have roots in folklore: but didn't show up until the 19th century, after publication of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, "Frankenstein."

The 1931 "Frankenstein" was, I think, a pretty good film adaptation. Later movies, like "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" and "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein," not so much.

Whether films like "The Phantom Creeps" (1939) and "Robot Monster" (1953) shape popular culture, or reflect it, I think movies give us a pretty good look at attitudes and assumptions from their era.

I could indulge in conventional angst about the evils of technology, collapse of civilization, or whatever — but would much rather take a none-too-serious look at artificial intelligence in the movies:
  • "2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
    • Insane computer kills crewmates
  • "Colossus: The Forbin Project" (1970)
    • Massive supercomputer is built
    • Takes over the world
    • Somewhat plausible
      • Given a willing suspension of disbelief
  • "Westworld" (1974)
    • Killer robots
      • A whole resort full of killer robots
  • "Logan's Run" (1976)
    • A nice, neat, orderly society
      • Where life is groovy
        • Until you hit 30
        • Then you die
      • Well, you can't have everything
    • Then a crazed cop kills the master computer
  • "Star Wars" (1977)
    • Comedy-relief robots
      • C-3PO, human-cyborg relations
      • R2-D2, astromech droid
  • "The Terminator" (1984)
    • Evil computer mastermind
    • Determined killer cyborg
    • Threat of nuclear apocalypse
  • "The Matrix" (1999)
    • Humanity makes an artificial intelligence
      • That takes over the world
    (Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (January 26, 2010))
My guess is that self-aware robots, if we ever manage to develop them, will have more in common with C-3PO than Skynet.

I wasn't the first person to see a humor in technophobic angst. Daniel Wilson had fun with fear in "How to Survive a Robot Uprising," as has XKCD:
"...Here are a few snapshots of what an actual robot apocalypse might look like:

"In labs everywhere, experimental robots would leap up from lab benches in a murderous rage, locate the door, and—with a tremendous crash—plow into it and fall over.

"Those robots lucky enough to have limbs that can operate a doorknob, or to have the door left open for them, would have to contend with deceptively tricky rubber thresholds before they could get into the hallway.

"Hours later, most of them would be found in nearby bathrooms, trying desperately to exterminate what they have identified as a human overlord but is actually a paper towel dispenser...."
("Robot Apocalypse," What If? XKCD.com)

Getting a Grip About Crash Test Dummies


I'm not troubled that we make increasingly lifelike imitations of living creatures. Somehow, I don't think the Almighty is going to be offended by cuckoo clocks or robot dogs playing soccer.

Tightly-wound folks of a grimly pious bent might have qualms about mechanical birds, music boxes, and other frivolities. I'm convinced that gloominess is not next to Godliness, and that's another topic. (May 5, 2011)

Besides, many automata help make this a safer world for humans.

Crash test dummies have replaced volunteers, human cadavers, and animals, for vehicle testing: and medical simulators help folks learn medical procedures and resuscitation techniques without putting patients or volunteers at risk.

Today's crash test dummies and medical simulators like the Harvey mannequin and Resusci Anne don't move on their own, at least not much, but I see them as automatons, at least in some senses of the word.

Oxford Dictionaries sees "automaton" as meaning a robot that mimics an human. Merriam-Webster defines it as a machine that moves by itself, and the Wikipedia page's definition is pretty broad, too. In English, "automaton" and "robot" mean almost the same thing.

It's no wonder that Artificial Intelligence still has trouble understanding human languages, and that's almost another topic.

Being Creative, Being Human


I don't see the human impulse to create as a problem. It'd be surprising if some of us didn't try to create, since we're made "in the image of God." (Genesis 1:26-27; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1701-1709)

What we do with our creative impulses is where ethics come in. Since we have free will, we can decide to act wisely — or not. The problem is not in our tech, it's in our decisions. (Catechism, 2493-2499, 2501, 2513)

We have freedom, "the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act...." (Catechism, 1731)

Deciding that we'd rather act against reason, truth, and right conscience is an option: and a very bad idea. (Catechism, 311, 396, 1704, 1730, 1739, 1849)

Studying this universe, and developing new technology with what we learn, is part of being human. It's what we're designed to do. (Catechism, 2293-2296)

More of my take on who we are and what we do:

Automatons: Not Entirely Lifelike


I've never run into 'religious objections' to crash test dummies.

On the other hand, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if someone took Acts 17:28-29 and decided that all moving machines are Satanic: automobiles, bicycles, and the entire Audio-Animatronic cast of Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room. Folks can get — imaginative — when faith and fear collide. My opinion.

I would, however, be astonished if we learned that a crash dummy refused to get into a test vehicle. They're nowhere near that lifelike.

1. Harvard's Robot Swarm



(From Reuters, used w/o permission.)
("The Kilobots, a swarm of 1,000 simple but collaborative robots...."
(Reuters))
"Rise of the machines? Tiny robot horde swarms to form shapes"
Will Dunham, Reuters (August 14, 2014)

"They look vaguely like miniature hockey pucks skittering along on three pin-like metal legs, but a swarm of small robots called Kilobots at a laboratory at Harvard University is making a little bit of history for automatons everywhere.

"Researchers who created a battalion of 1,024 of these robots said on Thursday the mini-machines are able to communicate with one another and organize themselves into two-dimensional shapes like letters of the alphabet.

"Much smaller groups of robots have been able to carry out similar tasks, but never a group this size...."
I don't blame Mr. Dunham for putting part of a movie title in his headline: "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines." Headlines are supposed to grab attention: and that one gets the job done.

I'm impressed that Kilobots can receive instructions to do a particular job, and take care of the rest on their own. It sounds a bit like what assembly languages do with instructions written in comparatively user-friendly languages like BASIC or Vala, after they're run through a compiler, if memory serves, and that's yet another topic.

If the Reuters article got the price correctly, researchers spent $14,336 on parts for their Kilobots: only $14 for each of the bots. That's not bad for a two-inch-high robot: and roughly half the cost of a paperweight that doesn't do much except look cool.

Rubenstein's Kilobots, Collective Artificial Intelligence, and "Resistance is Futile"



(From Reuters, used w/o permission.)
("A combination handout photo ... demonstrates the Kilobots ability, given a two-dimensional image, to follow simple rules to form the same shape."
(Reuters))
"...In a study published in the journal Science, they formed themselves on a large tabletop into the shapes of the letter 'K,' a star, a solid square and a wrench.

"It may be a step forward for collective artificial intelligence, although the researchers acknowledge the Kilobots are not exactly thinking deep thoughts.

" 'This is a "collective" of robots - a group of robots that work together to complete a common goal,' said Harvard computer scientist Michael Rubenstein, who led the study. 'If you call collective artificial intelligence the ability of a "collective" to start to behave as a single entity, you could call this collective artificial intelligence.'..."
(Will Dunham, Reuters)
"Collective artificial intelligence" reminded me of Star Trek's Borg, and speculative fiction's robots.

I'm no Trekkie, but I enjoy watching reruns of the original series now and then: and recently saw "Star Trek: First Contact" again. As entertainment, it's not the worst way to spend nearly two hours.

But — as Mr. Dunham's article points out — Rubenstein's Kilobots are "not exactly thinking deep thoughts," and most certainly are not a threat. I suppose they might, given time, spell out "RESISTANCE IS FUTILE," but that's about it.

Build Your Own Robot Swarm

"...The Kilobot name is a play on the word kilobit, meaning 1,024 bits of digital information. But to some it might sound menacing - as in 'killer robot' - as if it belongs in a movie like 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.'

" 'I tell people that these robots are not very dangerous. The only way that they could hurt you is if you try to eat one. They can't even go over a piece of paper. So they're kind of stuck where they are,' Rubenstein said."
(Will Dunham, Reuters)
"Where they are" is an eight-by-eight-foot surface: basically, a big whiteboard. As I said, the Kilobots' offensive capabilities are pretty much zilch.

Harvard's SoSRG — a nearly-unpronounceable acronym, not nearly as cool a name as as Skynet — isn't as optimistic as the Reuters article, where it comes to costs. The Harvard folks say that it'll take between $20 and $50 dollars per unit to build your own Kilobots: depending on how many you make at a time.

For the convenience of anyone who might want to build an army of Kilobots, SoSRG thoughtfully provided this assistance:
"...If you would like to build your own Kilobots, all the software and hardware details are available under a Creative Commons attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license. The documents can be found here. The design is fairly simple for any lab that is used to getting electronics made, and this is a great and affordable option if you plan to make a large number of robots (We estimate approximately $20/robot for thousand, up to $50/robot for a hundred). If you decide to make your own robots, feel free to contact Mike Rubenstein to let him know and if you need help...."
(Self-organizing Systems Research Group, Harvard)
More:

(From Kilobot User Guide, Beta Release, Self-Organizing Systems Research Group, Harvard University; used w/o permission.)
(Kilobot circuit board diagram.)

2. MIT's Origami Robots



(From Harvard's Wyss Institute, via Wired, used w/o permission.)
("The approach represented by these origami-bots leads to designs that are less powerful, but far more flexible and allows designers to experiment and iterate more quickly and cost effectively."
(Harvard's Wyss Institute, via Wired))
"The Deep Design Thinking Behind MIT's Incredible Origami Robot"
Joseph Flaherty, Wired (August 12, 2014)

"Imagine if Dunder-Mifflin made robots and you'd have a mental image of the latest breakthrough in robotic technology.

"A partnership between Harvard's Wyss Institute and MIT, with funding from the National Science Foundation, has yielded a new breed of angular automatons can transform themselves from a 2-D sheet of plastic into a fully functional cyber crab with the aid of a mere coin cell battery...."
Don't bother looking for Dunder Mifflin in the phone directory. It's a fictional paper sales company featured in the United States sitcom "The Office."

A few years from now, we might see novelty greeting cards that fold themselves into little dancing robots: sort of like today's musical and pop-up cards, and that's yet again another topic.

Mr. Flaherty's article compares electron beam melting and 3-D printing to "mundane and time-tested 2-D printers and laser cutters." My guess is that by the time he's my age, electron beam melting and other rapid prototyping technologies will be "mundane," too.

He makes a good point, though.

Tech we use to print kidneys, for example, is still experimental. (May 3, 2013)

But what was "science fiction" tech in my youth, like laser cutters, is the sort of thing that machine shop managers get retail or wholesale: depending on the scale of their operation. They also need to keep up with what's changed since their last purchase.

So do folks who can spend a few thousand dollars on equipment for a hobby:

Angular Automatons



(From Harvard's Wyss Institute, via Wired, used w/o permission.)
("A new breed of angular automaton can transform themselves from a 2-D sheet of plastic into a fully functional cyber crab with the aid of a mere coin cell battery."
(Harvard's Wyss Institute, via Wired))
"...Instead of building 'bots by assembling a metal frame, discrete motors, sensors, and power sources like some kind of mechanical Frankenstein, these researchers are promoting a new kind of manufacturing where engineers can elegantly specify a design and watch it spring to life like a seed emerging from the ground.

"This manufacturing method could be critically important in extreme environments like space. Astronauts on a mission to Mars will need robotic helpers, but the proposition of packing them in bulk quantities or bringing bulky manufacturing rigs and explosive gases for acetylene torches to manufacture them on site isn't feasible. Likewise, search and rescue robots are becoming more common, but their bulk and cost make them slow to deploy...."
(Joseph Flaherty, Wired)
There's a difference between tech that's available — and tech that's readily available.

High-end 3-D fast prototyping is something that a few companies and individuals are good at, not something you expect to find at the back of a department store.

But most offices and many homes have good- to high-quality 2-D printers, and if you don't have laser cutting equipment, you can get it at Amazon.com: search for laser cutting machines in their Business, Industrial & Scientific Supplies department. You still need to know what you're doing, of course, and have the right software.

This 'origami robot' tech's portability and low cost should make in very useful for disaster response.

'Ready for printing' sheets, attachments like servos and sensors, a 2-D printer, more-or-less-automated machining equipment, and a power source, should fit into a small truck or cargo container.

Airlifted into a disaster area, a portable 'robot factory' could churn out rescue robots made to order for whatever search crews encounter.

A downside to 'origami robots' is that they'd be difficult or impossible to repair. A flaw anywhere in the robot makes the whole unit unusable. Since it's basically a single flat sheet, swapping out the defective part isn't an option: the whole robot has to be replaced.

That may not be a serious disadvantage, though, as long as there's a 'robot factory' available. The things might not be all that expensive or difficult to replace. With a bit of planning, recycling this sort of robot should be fairly straightforward: still more topics.

More about self-folding robots:
This isn't the world I grew up in, and I'm okay with that:
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Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

Background:Posts in this blog: In the news:

What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.