While I have not yet read the article, I have to say that I am a bit disturbed to hear that this is being published for a host of reasons. Just recently
Wired published an article about the best way to make an AR-15 lower, that being utilizing the Ghost Gunner CNC device. I was really angry about this because
Wired under the guise of an article on technology, did this for shear sensationalism the proof being that it was their cover story. As a died in the wool libertarian, patriot, 2nd amendment defender, I say that we do not need this kind of article which will only serve to support the gun grabbing, liberal individuals who are destroying our country. I suspect you get the gist of where I am going with this.
On 29 August, I happened to run into Styropyro's Youtube video showcasing his "shotgun." I could relate to his showmanship and enthusiasm simply looking back to my youth filled with elaborate pranks and hooligan activity such as building TV and radio jammers, feeding Dick Gregory dollars into dollar bill changing machines, and as will be mentioned, enjoying phone phreaking machines. (Parenthetically, when the US government complained to Gregory about this at the time he said, something like, "If the government can't tell the difference between me and George Washington, they really have a problem.") I suspected Styropyro was a member of the Forum. I wrote this PM to him:
"And I thought I was a mad scientist when I was your age. I was making gun powder and accidentally set it off in the house making a lot of smoke and melting my glass mortar! You must have driven your parents to drink lol
Have you seen this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WDl9m55zXg
That shotgun of your is quite a masterpiece."
As the staff of every 3 letter agency in DC must keep busy to maintain their jobs, especially those with LE arms, they are always looking for new things for which they need to stick their noses in. From my experiences in medicine I have seen this with FDA and DEA the details of which are not important. As an example, I was personally involved with the GHB date rape scare. When Dr. Ward Dean asked me to review and write a forward to his book
GHB, while I did have a concern for its addictive liability, I agreed to write it anyway because it has clinical efficacy in a number of conditions such as depression, narcolepsy, and insomnia and because I did not want sensationalism to force the government's to legislate against it. In 2000 it was placed in the Schedule I category (no legitimate use) although when sold as sodium oxybate (by a Big Pharma charging a fortune,) it is considered Schedule III. Additionally, GBL, (γ-Butyrolactone achieved Schedule I status.) GBL is a solvent which was widely used in industry.
As I have said before in other threads, bureaucrat are chaffing at the bit to do something about "drones," the new scare word that describes what was always a harmless hobby called RC, radio controlled model planes. The same is true for lasers which are already controlled by the FDA. Does anyone reading this think our government friends want the public to have unrestricted access to what Styropyro created? As diodes are manufactured that are capable of higher and higher optical power you can bet that our government minions will be looking for an "incident" to which they can respond so new legislation can be enacted which will restrict not only lasers but their components.
To this day there is some controversy about Tesla's death. Was he murdered over his death ray? There is no question that an inventor can have an untimely demise. When Gerald Bull failed to sell his long range artillery to the US he turned to a much maligned dictator, one Saddam Hussein who retained his expertise immediately, not just for his "super weapon," but for some Scud design help. The Israelis were not too happy with this arrangement and warned Bull not once, but several times, albeit not directly but with several threatening break-ins to his apartment. Alas, Bull failed to heed the warnings and was allegedly dispatched. Although credit is usually given to Israel, a number of other countries may have done the deed including the US.
Knowledge is a wonderful thing, especially in scientific endeavors which offer humankind technology which can better our lives. I cannot only relate to Stryopro personally but i see in him the genius of the hackers of my generation who created the phone phreaking boxes that allowed me to make free phone calls. We all know what became of these guys. If you don't, I should think the names Steve Wozniak, and Steve Jobs should ring a bell...no pun intended. Styropyro is cut from the same cloth. However, the ability to disseminate information easily was not available to our phone phreaking friends.
The apprehension let alone the dissemination of knowledge demands a responsibility of those who acquire or create it.
The knowledge with respect to making an A-15 should be protected for use by true patriots and should therefore not have been sensationalized. While Styropyro's device is certainly noteworthy from a scientific perspective, the jump from promulgating its mere existence to finding the "how to make" instructions is not much of a leap. So, I think I wise to be very careful and one should be circumspect before making such information widely known by publication in a major media outlet.
So, Styropyro, when you perfect cold fusion, please don't let the cat out of the bag too quickly! (Yes, while I may be joking, I have no doubt that you are capable of making major contributions to the scientific body of knowledge or creating something significant. I seriously respect your intelligence and ability. I just hope you attain maturity with a slop which rises more steeply than your creative abilities and use your intelligence wisely.)
Good for you
