The next creation: a robo-chicken

i apologize in advance for the randomness of this post, as well as the fact that it does not in the least of leasts pertain to my life in france...


i was just reading the nytimes (cuz im hip, cool and informed), and i just came across this article:

Cockroaches Respond to Peer Pressure, Study Suggests

"Many a mother has said, with a sigh, “If your friends jumped off a cliff, would you jump, too?”

The answer, for cockroaches at least, may well be yes. Researchers using robotic roaches were able to convince real cockroaches to do things that their instincts told them were not the best idea.

...Dr. Halloy then replaced four of the cockroaches with four robots equipped with sensors to measure light and the proximity of other robots. When the robots emulated the real roaches, the group continued to seek the dark and crowded place."



at first i was skeptical but i gave the researchers the benefit of the doubt. like ok... maybe this has an productive end... u know, start studying cocky-roach behavior and ultimately use it to find some life-saving technology. then i read this:



"The scientists plan to extend their research to higher animals. The next creation: a robo-chicken, which will look a little like a ball on tank treads with loudspeakers"

... ok still skeptical (robo-chicken?? like.. cmon) but still trusting that science exists for things beyond the amusement of those studying it. then i read further:

"The current research did not test whether the robots could lead the cockroaches to something they really disliked, like broad daylight or insecticide. The results also apply only to cockroaches, Dr. Halloy said. “We are not interested in people,” he said."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/science/15cnd-roach.html?ref=science

like... THIS is what researchers and scientists are doing?? playing cruel tricks on poor cocky-roaches?? isnt there... i dunno... cancers to cure, AIDS to treat, or entire ecosystems dying out and in need of saving due to our wasteful lifestyles?? meanwhile, researchers are playing mouse trap (the boardgame) with innocent roaches. im offended. im calling PETA. [(o, side note,,, after i mentioned PETA i went to their website just to check it out because i was momentarily impassioned about animal rights and felt like being a person for the ethical treatment of animals... and who do i see on the webpage?? pamela anderson. so random. actually now that i think of it i feel like i remmeber seeing her with dogs on her episode of MTV cribs... she must be a person for the ethical protection of animals.) (another side note: at work the other day the song "teenage wasteleand" was playing and this frenc guy was drunkenly singing along to it and then he asked what song it was.. i told him. and then he said awww..non non, c'est BAYWATCH!!... this is what french people know about america... baywatch. now that i think of it i remmeber hearing that baywatch is the single most popularly sindicated show in the entire world. i didnt believe it at the time.. i thought it would be friends or seinfeld or possibly teletubbies. now i know: its definitely baywatch)]. i feel like these scientists are the kind of guys who in high school made their dog smoke out of a bong to see what happens and then laugh at it when it stumbles around high. well not exactly like that and i dont know why that image popped into my head but it seemed appropriate at the time. not so much anymore. anyways, paris is cool and awesome and blah blah. ill write again soon