I Am Legend: Fact or Fiction?

[devonin]

Re: I Am Legend: Fact or Fiction?

I think you also dramatically underestimate the degree of red tape that must be gone through in order to conduct tests on -any- vertebrate (plus octopodes). You have to appear before an ethics board (which contains scientists, ethicists, and even people from the town in which you want to work) and argue both that the intended results of your experiments are sufficiently positive to justify testing on animals, and that the only way to obtain the results you are looking for is via animal testing. This is neither a quick nor easy process.

The strictures on animal testing once it has been approved are also nothing to scoff at. Your laboratory space can be inspected at any time with no warning and if -anything- is found to be below standards, in Canada anyway, they can completely cut off all funding for you AND the institution at which you are working. This means that if say, a university's biology department was caught violating ethics standards, the ENTIRE UNIVERSITY could be shut down by the government, or at least have all its funding, regardless of source, stopped.

This provides plenty of incentive for labs to be -very- careful to maintain every reasonable standard and precaution.

[Zythus]

Re: I Am Legend: Fact or Fiction?

Though it might be that way, but in the same sense, a government won't let such a epidemic inundate an entire population on purpose. Its all about mishaps and luck.

So far, it would seem the government is doing an adequate job, a tiny slip can cause genocide.

[devonin]

Re: I Am Legend: Fact or Fiction?

I rather think it would take a lot more than a "tiny slip" to cause a genocide let alone even a minor catastrophe. You perhaps -also- still underestimate the degree to which safeguards and procedures are enforced in any lab that is dealing with even potentially dangerous substances.

Any potential outbreak of something deadly is in the vast majority of cases going to come out of a basement lab conducting illegal research on dangerous substances with no oversight or safeguards, but once again, movies have really drummed it into our heads that all you need to do to get your hands on a lethal supply of anthrax is know some guy named Achmed and you're good to go.

If that were the case, then the world would already have ended many times.

[charless]

Re: I Am Legend: Fact or Fiction?

Obviously Fact (to an extent).

Explanation below:

There are TWO main vital properties to a virus or bacteria pertaining to this level to cause such an epidemic/pandemic. They are lethality and transmission.

Think about it for a second. Think of a disease/bacteria/virus with its lethality containining advanced properties such disabling your immune system (think HIV), vomiting (very common symptom for many diseases), organ failure (again common symptom), and fast-paced necrosis (death of cells and living tissue). They are all very realistic and within boundaries of existing so why wouldn't it?

The only thing I don't see existing is someone dying and ressurecting (zombies) but I do believe that an epidemic/pandemic may occur under the correct circumstances. The second vital property is transmission. Incubation period doesn't really matter (although short-term may be the best for this kind of demic), resistance to heat/moisture (very important, it has to survive various climates), survivability outside host (most diseases/virii/bacteria die instantly when exposed to the atmosphere), can it pass through bodily fluids, will it affect humans only, is it AIRBORNE, is it WATERborne?

There are way too many variables but I BELIEVE THIS IS POSSIBLE AND HOPE AN APOCALYPSE OCCURS SOON ENOUGH.

[devonin]

Re: I Am Legend: Fact or Fiction?

Um...you hope an apocalypse happens? Are you a nihilist, or just misanthropic?

And again, just because there do exist diseases that -could- potentially become pandemics, why should we believe that it will happen? That's an appeal to probabilities, and fallacious.

[Zythus]

Re: I Am Legend: Fact or Fiction?

It is my opinion to not feel safe even with protection and safeguards to the elaborate extent you are telling me. Most often, we have this sense of false security. And thats exactly how mishaps happen.

And why shouldn't we believe that it would happen? The point is, a tiny slip, in any form, even with safeguards to whatever extent, can cause genocide. Period. What I find you, Devonin, are talking about is that we should all sit back and just leave the possibility as nonexistent.

[Calcium Deposit]

Re: I Am Legend: Fact or Fiction?

It is my opinion to not feel safe even with protection and safeguards to the elaborate extent you are telling me. Most often, we have this sense of false security. And thats exactly how mishaps happen.

And why shouldn't we believe that it would happen? The point is, a tiny slip, in any form, even with safeguards to whatever extent, can cause genocide. Period. What I find you, Devonin, are talking about is that we should all sit back and just leave the possibility as nonexistent.

Worrying about a problem you cannot control is counter-productive. Devonin never said non-existant, just highly improbable. It would be highly improbable that Martha Stewart would come to your house and kill your family, but would you worry about it anyway? Hopefully not.
A major catastrophe would require more than just a little push to get going. The Chernobyl incident for instance, was the result of massive neglect, poor equipment, and even poorer safety protocols. And even then, most of the devastation was isolated to that general area. That area is now deemed safe to live in.

[malevolentman87]

Re: I Am Legend: Fact or Fiction?

Um...you hope an apocalypse happens? Are you a nihilist, or just misanthropic?

And again, just because there do exist diseases that -could- potentially become pandemics, why should we believe that it will happen? That's an appeal to probabilities, and fallacious.

sigh* all of this talk is stupid, seriously, all of these topics are pretty much self explanatory, then we have these huge posts of common sense, bunch of idiots

[robertsona]

Re: I Am Legend: Fact or Fiction?

shut up, don't bump old topics, especially when you have nothing to say.
EDIT: nvm, bumping is allowed here, but yeah. unworthy bump there.

[devonin]

Re: I Am Legend: Fact or Fiction?

malevolentman, welcome to Critical Thinking, please read the rules of the forum before you post again.