5 ms·

"The cost of destroying the world falls by the day" Paraphrased, can't remember the source

sawwit 11y ago
Also, "the necessary IQ for destroying the world falls by the day".
Kutta 11y ago
https://intelligence.org/files/AIPosNegFactor.pdf https://intelligence.org/files/AIPosNegFactor.pdf Is the oldest source that I remember (from page 37).
- Natanael_L 11y ago
  Nice; > Moore’s Law of Mad Science: Every eighteen months, the minimum IQ necessary to destroy the world drops by one point.
300bps 11y ago
May be true but not applicable to this story about a rail gun that is more dangerous to the person setting it up and firing it than any potential target of it. The thing couldn't even shoot through two sides of a car door.
- TeMPOraL 11y ago
  True, but note that this project can be done by any random teenager (closer to 12 than 18 years old) with no access to specialized materials or equipment. Aluminium and copper is around everywhere, and you can pry HV capacitors from off-the-shelf equipment (as a kid I used to get them from spent single-roll analog cameras). Instructions you can find on-line. In contrast, making a working gun at home (and more importantly, ammo!) is much more difficult (though still doable), requiring some specific chemicals and a lathe if you want to finish it in under a decade. Though the latter is changing as well, as the lathes are more precise, cheaper and easier to get than they used to be. And this is still very low in the category of actual damage - close to the top I'd put a resourceful teenager halting a desalination plant or crashing the power grid in some country using only his laptop. Actually, I'm still a bit surprised it hasn't happened yet given the laughable state of infosec in the industries. The point of the quote is - our technological advancements tend to raise the amount of damage a single person can do by using products of the system against the system itself. And this is a big problem, because while you can hope for some level of control over countries or even corporations, with 7 billion people on this planet, some accident is bound to occur eventually, and individuals hell-bent on destroying the world pop up by pure chance.
  - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
    " individuals hell-bent on destroying the world " Ha, on Criminal Minds my favorite quote is from a scene where it was observed that a teenaged boy profiled as a sociopath. The boss replied "Every teenaged boy profiles as a sociopath; you know that!"
  - platz 11y ago
    Didnt he say he spent 50,000 on those caps?
    - nkurz 11y ago
      No, he said that would have been the retail price. He bought them for much less. In other places, he mentioned that his total cost for the project was about $4,000.
  - csn 11y ago
    Slam-fire shotgun can be built, in a day and in total secrecy, by a 12 year old with some loose change in any modestly equipped garage. It is extremely easy to conceal and carry, you can reach 30+ shots per minute with little training and, sadly, ammunition for it is probably less time (read: resource) consuming to acquire in many countries than the knowledge of electrical engineering sufficient to build a working railgun of that scale.
    - TeMPOraL 11y ago
      Never heard of slam-fire shotguns before. I'll look into it. As a kid I had seen designs for railguns though. I disagree that the shotgun would be easier because of ammo issue. It may be as you say in the US of A, but in Europe it's not that easy to get your hands on live rounds. Also, I doubt people often sell ammo to a 12 year old - so in order to get it, you'd have to interact with a grownup. Railguns are easier; your parents will never know what you're building even if you're spending your lunch money on high voltage capacitors.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 11y ago
    Eh! I'll start worrying when the actual amount of danger exceeds what a rural teenager can do with access to a farm supply store and $20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANFO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANFO

Also, "the necessary IQ for destroying the world falls by the day".

Kutta 11y ago

https://intelligence.org/files/AIPosNegFactor.pdf https://intelligence.org/files/AIPosNegFactor.pdf Is the oldest source that I remember (from page 37).

Natanael_L 11y ago
Nice; > Moore’s Law of Mad Science: Every eighteen months, the minimum IQ necessary to destroy the world drops by one point.

300bps 11y ago

May be true but not applicable to this story about a rail gun that is more dangerous to the person setting it up and firing it than any potential target of it. The thing couldn't even shoot through two sides of a car door.

TeMPOraL 11y ago
True, but note that this project can be done by any random teenager (closer to 12 than 18 years old) with no access to specialized materials or equipment. Aluminium and copper is around everywhere, and you can pry HV capacitors from off-the-shelf equipment (as a kid I used to get them from spent single-roll analog cameras). Instructions you can find on-line. In contrast, making a working gun at home (and more importantly, ammo!) is much more difficult (though still doable), requiring some specific chemicals and a lathe if you want to finish it in under a decade. Though the latter is changing as well, as the lathes are more precise, cheaper and easier to get than they used to be. And this is still very low in the category of actual damage - close to the top I'd put a resourceful teenager halting a desalination plant or crashing the power grid in some country using only his laptop. Actually, I'm still a bit surprised it hasn't happened yet given the laughable state of infosec in the industries. The point of the quote is - our technological advancements tend to raise the amount of damage a single person can do by using products of the system against the system itself. And this is a big problem, because while you can hope for some level of control over countries or even corporations, with 7 billion people on this planet, some accident is bound to occur eventually, and individuals hell-bent on destroying the world pop up by pure chance.
- JoeAltmaier 11y ago
  " individuals hell-bent on destroying the world " Ha, on Criminal Minds my favorite quote is from a scene where it was observed that a teenaged boy profiled as a sociopath. The boss replied "Every teenaged boy profiles as a sociopath; you know that!"
- platz 11y ago
  Didnt he say he spent 50,000 on those caps?
  - nkurz 11y ago
    No, he said that would have been the retail price. He bought them for much less. In other places, he mentioned that his total cost for the project was about $4,000.
- csn 11y ago
  Slam-fire shotgun can be built, in a day and in total secrecy, by a 12 year old with some loose change in any modestly equipped garage. It is extremely easy to conceal and carry, you can reach 30+ shots per minute with little training and, sadly, ammunition for it is probably less time (read: resource) consuming to acquire in many countries than the knowledge of electrical engineering sufficient to build a working railgun of that scale.
  - TeMPOraL 11y ago
    Never heard of slam-fire shotguns before. I'll look into it. As a kid I had seen designs for railguns though. I disagree that the shotgun would be easier because of ammo issue. It may be as you say in the US of A, but in Europe it's not that easy to get your hands on live rounds. Also, I doubt people often sell ammo to a 12 year old - so in order to get it, you'd have to interact with a grownup. Railguns are easier; your parents will never know what you're building even if you're spending your lunch money on high voltage capacitors.
- HeyLaughingBoy 11y ago
  Eh! I'll start worrying when the actual amount of danger exceeds what a rural teenager can do with access to a farm supply store and $20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANFO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANFO