Comments on: Watson Suspended, Dawkins and Blakemore Equivocate http://www.psynixis.com/blog/2007/10/21/watson-suspended-dawkins-and-blakemore-equivocate/ Simon Brocklehurst's Technology Blog Mon, 08 Sep 2008 08:24:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Asam Bashir http://www.psynixis.com/blog/2007/10/21/watson-suspended-dawkins-and-blakemore-equivocate/#comment-134682 Asam Bashir Tue, 23 Oct 2007 01:46:22 +0000 http://www.psynixis.com/blog/2007/10/21/watson-suspended-dawkins-and-blakemore-equivocate/#comment-134682 <p>Story made it to Newsnight, interview with Craig Venter including comments on the Watson controversy. </p> <p>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/7057224.stm</p> <p>What the public needs to understand is that technological progress is exponential.....</p> Story made it to Newsnight, interview with Craig Venter including comments on the Watson controversy.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/7057224.stm

What the public needs to understand is that technological progress is exponential…..

]]> By: simon http://www.psynixis.com/blog/2007/10/21/watson-suspended-dawkins-and-blakemore-equivocate/#comment-133746 simon Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:42:40 +0000 http://www.psynixis.com/blog/2007/10/21/watson-suspended-dawkins-and-blakemore-equivocate/#comment-133746 <p>Marcus - I hear what you're saying; but you know, sometimes you have to pick your battles. I don't think that particular battle is one I would win. Sometimes it's better to live to fight another day... Also, there are many people better placed than I to do something about this particular example: they all chose to do nothing. Which proves my general point - people don't like to get involved. That doesn't make them bad people; but it does illustrate how unacceptable behaviour can carry on for a long time without being stopped. This is just how the world is.</p> <p>Or, to put it another way: sometimes the bad guys win...</p> Marcus - I hear what you’re saying; but you know, sometimes you have to pick your battles. I don’t think that particular battle is one I would win. Sometimes it’s better to live to fight another day… Also, there are many people better placed than I to do something about this particular example: they all chose to do nothing. Which proves my general point - people don’t like to get involved. That doesn’t make them bad people; but it does illustrate how unacceptable behaviour can carry on for a long time without being stopped. This is just how the world is.

Or, to put it another way: sometimes the bad guys win…

]]> By: Marcus http://www.psynixis.com/blog/2007/10/21/watson-suspended-dawkins-and-blakemore-equivocate/#comment-133744 Marcus Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:35:37 +0000 http://www.psynixis.com/blog/2007/10/21/watson-suspended-dawkins-and-blakemore-equivocate/#comment-133744 Simon, your comment that you "prefer to do nothing", even though you claim to know of a major travesty that could somehow destroy the reputation of the NHS is quite shocking, really. One evil person can't do much unless a whole bunch of people "prefer to do nothing". I'm rather surprised that you feel confident in keeping your own reputation after making what amounts to a confession like that. Actually, I'm pretty much speechless. All sorts of angry words cross my mind and yet none do justice to such hypocrisy. Simon, your comment that you “prefer to do nothing”, even though you claim to know of a major travesty that could somehow destroy the reputation of the NHS is quite shocking, really.

One evil person can’t do much unless a whole bunch of people “prefer to do nothing”.

I’m rather surprised that you feel confident in keeping your own reputation after making what amounts to a confession like that. Actually, I’m pretty much speechless. All sorts of angry words cross my mind and yet none do justice to such hypocrisy.

]]> By: simon http://www.psynixis.com/blog/2007/10/21/watson-suspended-dawkins-and-blakemore-equivocate/#comment-133726 simon Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:04:33 +0000 http://www.psynixis.com/blog/2007/10/21/watson-suspended-dawkins-and-blakemore-equivocate/#comment-133726 <p>I suspect people really don't like get themselves involved in things like this.</p> <p>For example, I personally know of one senior member of the scientific and medical establishment who has done things that are much worse than anything Watson has been accused of. Really staggering behaviour that has all but ruined the lives of hundreds (maybe even thousands) of people. The institutions involved are aware of what has happened, but prefer to do nothing about it (although they have stopped the activity). It's a genuinely massive story - both the activity itself, and the cover up by the establishment. If the press got interested, it could do great damage to the reputation of the UK NHS. Do I want to get involved something like that? Sorry, but I don't.</p> I suspect people really don’t like get themselves involved in things like this.

For example, I personally know of one senior member of the scientific and medical establishment who has done things that are much worse than anything Watson has been accused of. Really staggering behaviour that has all but ruined the lives of hundreds (maybe even thousands) of people. The institutions involved are aware of what has happened, but prefer to do nothing about it (although they have stopped the activity). It’s a genuinely massive story - both the activity itself, and the cover up by the establishment. If the press got interested, it could do great damage to the reputation of the UK NHS. Do I want to get involved something like that? Sorry, but I don’t.

]]> By: Asam Bashir http://www.psynixis.com/blog/2007/10/21/watson-suspended-dawkins-and-blakemore-equivocate/#comment-133722 Asam Bashir Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:53:36 +0000 http://www.psynixis.com/blog/2007/10/21/watson-suspended-dawkins-and-blakemore-equivocate/#comment-133722 If the comments made where as suggested, not a single person from the genome lab thought it important enough to report to the press? If the comments made where as suggested, not a single person from the genome lab thought it important enough to report to the press?

]]> By: simon http://www.psynixis.com/blog/2007/10/21/watson-suspended-dawkins-and-blakemore-equivocate/#comment-133715 simon Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:37:36 +0000 http://www.psynixis.com/blog/2007/10/21/watson-suspended-dawkins-and-blakemore-equivocate/#comment-133715 <p>No journalists are usually present at these kind of events.</p> No journalists are usually present at these kind of events.

]]> By: Asam Bashir http://www.psynixis.com/blog/2007/10/21/watson-suspended-dawkins-and-blakemore-equivocate/#comment-133713 Asam Bashir Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:34:39 +0000 http://www.psynixis.com/blog/2007/10/21/watson-suspended-dawkins-and-blakemore-equivocate/#comment-133713 All this new information being made available seems pretty shocking to me, my question is that if Watson made such extreme comments at a UK genome lab, why wasn't the matter deal with at the time, six years ago? Why has it taken so long to get out into the press? What where the mechanisms in place that stopped the press picking up on the revelations at that time? All this new information being made available seems pretty shocking to me, my question is that if Watson made such extreme comments at a UK genome lab, why wasn’t the matter deal with at the time, six years ago? Why has it taken so long to get out into the press? What where the mechanisms in place that stopped the press picking up on the revelations at that time?

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