Comments on: Fake Bombs and Instigation

By: kurt wismer

kurt wismer — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:47:11 +0000

@shrdlu:
“Chris, just tell me then, if you were a law enforcement officer, how you would tell a bomb from a collection of wires and circuits strapped to a chest. Without giving the wearer a chance to set it off just in case you were wrong.”

while they may not have known ahead of time, after they determined it was not a bomb there was no reason to charge her since it obviously wasn’t intended to look like a bomb either…

though i have to say, it’s amazing they were so willing to use deadly force on a suspected suicide bomber… has no one ever heard of a dead man’s switch?

“”Oh! If it’s got pretty lights on it, then it CAN’T be a bomb! If a girl’s wearing it, it can’t be a bomb! If she doesn’t look Middle Eastern, then it can’t be a bomb!” …”

since the cops can’t see how she perceives it (even after determining that it was not a bomb) why are we expecting her to have seen how others would perceive it PRIOR to receiving the feedback she’s now received?

we shouldn’t expect any more perceptual flexibility from her than we do from others… nobody in this incident was able to see past their own personal experiences and biases… most people commenting on the incident can’t seem to either…

By: shrdlu

shrdlu — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 10:29:12 +0000

Chris, just tell me then, if you were a law enforcement officer, how you would tell a bomb from a collection of wires and circuits strapped to a chest. Without giving the wearer a chance to set it off just in case you were wrong.

(And, I might mention, probably without enough electronics training, either. I doubt most cops could analyze a circuit board from a distance to see what it did.)

(“Oh! If it’s got pretty lights on it, then it CAN’T be a bomb! If a girl’s wearing it, it can’t be a bomb! If she doesn’t look Middle Eastern, then it can’t be a bomb!” …)

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:34:52 +0000

So, shrdlu, we have a corollary to Asimov’s observation on technology and magic?

“Any sufficiently advanced technology involving more than 3 LEDs is indistinguishable from terrorism”

By: kurt wismer

kurt wismer — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 17:34:54 +0000

@peter:
“(I am not really following any of these cases too closely, but needed to get this off my chest.)”

the devil’s in the details…

@shrdlu
“I don’t care whether SHE knew what it was; she should have known that most people wouldn’t and it was in exactly the right place to cause panic.”

right, LEDs in a star pattern (’cause her name is star) just drive people into a frenzy of terror… and don’t get me started on little hearts and unicorns…

By: shrdlu

shrdlu — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 13:00:19 +0000

Amen. I’m sorry, but some people are too stupid to handle their genius. This kid should have known better than to carry anything that looked like electronics strapped to her body into an airport. I don’t care whether SHE knew what it was; she should have known that most people wouldn’t and it was in exactly the right place to cause panic.

I knew another very smart kid who thought it would be a good idea to bring in a fake bomb to school — you know, sticks of dynamite connected to an analog clock, the whole thing. He was astounded when the teacher threw him out on his ass.

And before you start to say anything about how “times have changed” … this was back in 1978.

By: TazerGuy

TazerGuy — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 04:13:09 +0000

Don’tTazMeBro!Don’tTazMe