That's rather a defeatist thinking isn't it? Sure, it's an absolute arrogance to think that we human race is the master of the Earth but knowing that we are small and weak shouldn't stop us from trying to understand (and hopefully gain a little control over) how nature works, which is what all this is about.

I'm not sure what the legal challenge is. If the robot or AI or whatever is proved to be self-determinate, then granting them human rights should be a relatively easy task. It has right to the free speech, own property and pay taxes (and we'll sue the binary shit out of it). We already granted some modified human…

I remember seeing something like this before. I think that it was caused by gravity waves?

A good question that I don't know the answer to.

Independent in how? Our thoughts and minds are formed and shaped by the world around us. We are never truly an independent agent so long as we depend on our sensory inputs like sight, vision and even emotions. However, I would quite like to know how a mind from a deaf, blind, paralyzed etc etc, thinks, if it's even…

Ever thought that our self-awareness to thinking and consciousness might be an error in our brain machinery? Somehow, that we're the ones living the life wrong while every other species has got it right? Because, as you say, consciousness doesn't offer much evolutionary benefit.

There are existing laws that could cover this kind of technology, like ones for the truth serum. And truth serum is considered a form of a torture.

Apparently, the one with Eddie Murphy in it.

Just out of curiosity, how do you feel about the fall of Roman empire? They had steam engine (novelty at the time), concrete, and a sanitary and sewage system. Really, an industrial revolution was just around the corner for them. But all we remember of them now is their fancy dead language.

A half, at which point, you do not get a half a kitten that is half as cute but an awful bloody mess.

The same reason fundamentalists crave for an omnipotent and omniscient being to solve all human problems? Everyone wants to live in utopia. The rest is nitpicking the details.

But is it a murder of an unborn person? Would the duration of pregnancy matter? Does it matter if the woman was going to abort anyway? You charge them with assault against a woman but it doesn't end there. (Well I hope not.)

This notion of "Let's do away with all the evolution and/or ecosystem stuff because it's inefficient!" is a bit scary to me. I can certainly see the benefits. Who wouldn't want plentiful cheap and tasty food?

Anybody know how this gravity wave detector works? I'm guessing it uses lasers (what doesn't these days)?

"I'm not trying to be ironic, I actually wouldn't be opposed to maybe something like Gattaca style genetic engineering, so long as we don't segregate like every science fiction ever has shown."

A sad reality. And school funds depend on the size of attending students too, diverting school's focus further away from providing the best education.

What if school teaches an information that is wrong but doesn't know about it or haven't gotten around to fixing it yet? School education is not immune to inaccuracies.

There is nothing I can say to counter this. Cost limit is very hard to argue with...

Korea had contact with Christian church long before the Japanese occupation and interestingly, were persecuted by the government. I don't know exactly when Christianity got popular but I'm guessing it's after the liberation and with US influence of religious freedom.

Not really. How does understanding why the universe is expanding or why galaxies don't fly apart relate to me living long and prosper?