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Can information be used as a weapon? Definition weapon - a thing designed or used for inflicting bodily harm or physical damage.
by brador 9y ago
Can information be used as a weapon?
Definition weapon - a thing designed or used for inflicting bodily harm or physical damage.
- SiempreViernes 9y agoAs you've specified a weapon must be a thing, then trivially no, by definition. But certainly information can be used for extortion, or to otherwise coerce people against their will, and maybe that's enough?
- mojomark 9y ago> As you've specified a weapon must be a thing, then trivially no "Information" is a noun, hence it is a "thing". Furthermore, the 'physical damage' it can inflict is the destruction or manipulation of physical memory cell states.
- SiempreViernes 9y agoIf you want to have the argument that a "thing" can mean "information" I wish you all the luck in getting a partner that agrees with you. Personally it's both for me, depending on the occasion.
- mojomark 9y agoThere is no argument, "information" is a "thing", by definition.
- jimktrains2 9y agoSo psychological and material harm are irrelevant?
- simonh 9y agoAre you sure that's the whole of the definition from the source you took it from? It looks suspiciously like a fragment of the definition on en.oxforddictionaries.com, omitting the part of the definition that is more general. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/weapon https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/weapon
- TeMPOraL 9y agoYes. Consider a detailed blueprint for a physical weapon. Or information that make coordinated use of armed forces more efficient. Or blackmailing material.
- logfromblammo 9y agoI think information is likely more analogous to ammunition than to a weapon. By itself, it is harmless, but when paired with an appropriate device, by a user with malicious intent, it can then be used to cause harm.