3 ms·

What are the major successes that came out of the lab? On top of my head I can think of: e-Ink, Lego mindstorms, Scratch. I bet there are hundreds more.

by auvi 7y ago

inflatableDodo 7y ago
I can appreciate that millions are alive thanks to Fritz Haber's work on chemical fertiliser and still think that it would have been for the best if someone had shot him in the head shortly after completing it. And then again to make sure. edit to add the obligatory reference - 'The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas' - https://www.utilitarianism.com/nu/omelas.pdf https://www.utilitarianism.com/nu/omelas.pdf
- dredmorbius 7y ago
  For the downvoters: Fritz Haber co-invented (with Carl Bosch) the Haber-Bosch ammonia synthesis process, without which most people on Earth would not be alive. He is also credited as the father of chemical warfare, and directly ran and oversaw development of chlorine and other poison gas weapons for Germany in WWI. His wife, Clara Immerwahr, committed suicide, using her husband's service revolver, and was found mortally wounded though not yet dead by her 12 year old son An act thought by many to have been a protest to her husband's work. Parent comment is quite accurate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Immerwahr https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Immerwahr https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Haber https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Haber
  - inflatableDodo 7y ago
    Thanks for the understanding of what I am trying to get at. I'd just like to add that for an athiest, I am a great believer in redemption. I don't think that it is time reversible however, that theory was thouroughly tested during the crusades with the system of automatic indulgences and by all accounts it did not go well. Also, redemption is unfortunately rare enough that you shouldn't cut people much slack over anything genuinely serious, while waiting for them to get around to redeeming themselves.
dredmorbius 7y ago
Over 150 spin-off companies, though the link seems recently disappeared from MITML's website: https://web.archive.org/web/20171203200328/https://www.media.mit.edu/about/spin-off-companies/ https://web.archive.org/web/20171203200328/https://www.media...

What are the major successes that came out of the lab? On top of my head I can think of: e-Ink, Lego mindstorms, Scratch. I bet there are hundreds more.

by auvi 7y ago

What are the major successes that came out of the lab? On top of my head I can think of: e-Ink, Lego mindstorms, Scratch. I bet there are hundreds more.

inflatableDodo 7y ago

I can appreciate that millions are alive thanks to Fritz Haber's work on chemical fertiliser and still think that it would have been for the best if someone had shot him in the head shortly after completing it. And then again to make sure. edit to add the obligatory reference - 'The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas' - https://www.utilitarianism.com/nu/omelas.pdf https://www.utilitarianism.com/nu/omelas.pdf

dredmorbius 7y ago
For the downvoters: Fritz Haber co-invented (with Carl Bosch) the Haber-Bosch ammonia synthesis process, without which most people on Earth would not be alive. He is also credited as the father of chemical warfare, and directly ran and oversaw development of chlorine and other poison gas weapons for Germany in WWI. His wife, Clara Immerwahr, committed suicide, using her husband's service revolver, and was found mortally wounded though not yet dead by her 12 year old son An act thought by many to have been a protest to her husband's work. Parent comment is quite accurate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Immerwahr https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Immerwahr https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Haber https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Haber
- inflatableDodo 7y ago
  Thanks for the understanding of what I am trying to get at. I'd just like to add that for an athiest, I am a great believer in redemption. I don't think that it is time reversible however, that theory was thouroughly tested during the crusades with the system of automatic indulgences and by all accounts it did not go well. Also, redemption is unfortunately rare enough that you shouldn't cut people much slack over anything genuinely serious, while waiting for them to get around to redeeming themselves.

dredmorbius 7y ago

Over 150 spin-off companies, though the link seems recently disappeared from MITML's website: https://web.archive.org/web/20171203200328/https://www.media.mit.edu/about/spin-off-companies/ https://web.archive.org/web/20171203200328/https://www.media...