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Quit spreading lies. http://io9.com/5975592/aaron-swartz-died-innocent-++-here-is-the-evidence

There already is a live-action Star Wars show (sorta NSFW).

THERE IS NO LAW AGAINST DRAWINGS OR ANIME DEPICTING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY in the U.S., because no one is harmed -- or potentially harmed -- in drawings or anime.

There might not be a explicit law against it, but don't worry -- we'll bend one into shape.

Guilty ... for possessing "drawings of children being sexually abused": Plea agreement draft and primary, secondary, and tertiary background.

Synopsis: ... ordered a set of [7] manga volumes ... seized by Post Office workers in 2006. They were (see link.) Each of these volumes featured drawings ... that is not illegal in Japan. Following this, ... home was raided ... further volumes fitting the category of the charge ... [of] possession of obscene comic books without literary or artistic merit.

Result: (?forced to?) plead guilty and sentenced to six months.


Agree, child porn is bad. But then again, who decides exactly what a child is?

A real child in front of you ends up depicted as photons on your retina which you recognize as a child.
A picture in a book ends up depicted as photons on your retina which you recognize as a child.

Therefore if it's a naughty picture, you're harming a child. 20 years, off you go.
Next case please, bailiff?

Though it’s a long way from being an interstellar probe; Deep Space 1 used ion drives (inadequate but new), self-repairing mission AI, and self-navigation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Space_1

Also, NASA is working on a warp drive.

http://io9.com/5963263/how-nasa-will-build-its-very-first-warp-drive

Look guys, I found another one. I'm pretty sure the 501st aren't even connected to Disney.

IO9's article about what the story's really about. First of all, a Kirin isn't really that much like a unicorn, though it is a mythical beast. But it's really about finding a site related to Tongmyng, ruler of an ancient kingdom in northern Korea, who was symbolized by the Kirin, kind of like calling somebody "The Dragon King" or whatever. There's some question about whether their announcement is more like "we found some cities from Troy / another Mayan pyramid / etc." type of history or more like "We found King Arthur's castle Camelot" sort of national mythology, which would certainly be the kind of thing you'd do when you've got a new Fearless Leader.

Like these?

Hermit crabs are the animal kingdom’s most dickish neighbors

...sometimes hermit crabs hang out... and they're invariably total assholes to each other.

I can see your point, but I don't think this is a slippery slope issue.

Then
You're
Not
Paying
Enough
Attention

There has been a flurry of new models (or significant variations on the old model) suggested recently. They include a smaller than Mars impactor that hit at a higher velocity and a slower impactor that was approximately the same size as the newly formed Earth. Both were inspired by studies that showed that the evection resonance of the Earth-Moon-Sun system would allow for a greater slow down in the rotation of the Earth getting to the contemporary 24 hr day. (see http://io9.com/5952497/further-evidence-that-the-moons-explosive-birth-was-weirder-than-we-thought et al)

And it looks like wired's embedded ustream feed isn't working...

Maybe their copyright robot decided it sounded too much like science fiction?

This might be better than cloning. A recent mammoth corpse might be able to create genuine fertilized mammoth eggs, which would only require a womb.

sometimes people explode during colonoscopies. WTF Google!

http://io9.com/5945897/sometimes-people-explode-during-colonoscopies-heres-how-that-happens

captcha: touchily

Why not ban text descriptions, or ban stories which encourage child abuse?

They are already banned, see Manga Collection Ruled “Child Pornography By US Court.

I think I remember reading that when the coelocanth was formally rediscovered, some of the local fishermen seemed surprised. They had occasionally dredged them up in their nets, but always tossed them overboard because they tasted so bad. This site suggests that its oily flesh also acts as a powerful laxative.

Probably best to leave them in the water.

"Hare writes that the difference between sociopathy and psychopathy may "reflect the user's views on the origins and determinates of the disorder." The term sociopathy may be preferred by sociologists that see the causes as due to social factors. The term psychopathy may be preferred by psychologists who see the causes as due to a combination of psychological, genetic, and environmental factors."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy

Research suggests that, “psychopaths are a stable proportion of any population, can be from any segment of society, may constitute a distinct taxonomical class forged by frequency-dependent natural selection, and that the muting of the social emotions is the proximate mechanism that enables psychopaths to pursue their self-centered goals without felling the pangs of guilt. Sociopaths are more the products of adverse environmental experiences that affect autonomic nervous system and neurological development that may lead to physiological responses similar to those of psychopaths. Antisocial personality disorder is a legal/clinical label that may be applied to both psychopaths and sociopaths” (Walsh & Wu, 2008).
http://blogs.psychcentral.com/forensic-focus/2010/07/sociopathy-vs-psychopathy/

And if you want a bit more about the history of socio/psychopaths, reading this article about sherlock holmes not being a sociopath might also be helpful.

I've read that in 20 years or less, we will be able to download all of a person's brain onto a computer hard drive. All of their memories, accumulated knowledge and yes, any crimes they may have comitted. Trying to find citation. Click this link, and scroll down to see a pic of "the headset of the future!" http://m.io9.com/5495712/six-ways-science-can-see-into-your-brain This article on the ethics of brain imaging http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/7324 and http://m.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/feb/09/neuroscience.ethicsofscience?cat=science&type=article

...It reads like it was written by a very advanced ESL student.

You don't know the half of it- As suggested by a reply to Soulskill in a Reddit forum, it's been confirmed that Timothy is actually an alien that used to go by "Greg" on ESPN (third video down), before coming to /.

I second this. I'd upvote it if Slashdot's voting system wasn't so crazy. Also here's a list of young reader SF on IO9.

Most people are suggesting hoary old stuff from the 40s and 50s. There is a place for these, but I really don't know if they apply to a modern kid - it's hard to read stuff about "the future" when nobody has computers, cel phones, etc. Find well-regarded new books by NEW authors who are trying to write about the future we have NOW, instead of the future of the 1940s. Among other things you won't be filling your kids with a bunch of 1940s attitudes towards women.

I mean, I read a decent amount of the old stuff, sure, I even dug up the Lensman books and read them - but I read them when I was old enough to see them as being from a DIFFERENT TIME.

And great entertainment for astronomers: http://io9.com/5358622/astronaut-urine-creates-a-surprisingly-attractive-light-show

This ad is reproduced in the book To Catch a Mouse, Make a Noise Like a Cheese by Lewis Kornfeld. In that book, Kornfeld shares his thoughts on marketing, and as part of that, he shows a few ads and then makes comments about them.

He was impressed (in a negative way) that Steve Jobs had his picture inserted in the ad many times. (This was pre-Mac so Steve Jobs wasn't famous yet; Kornfeld was a pioneer in the field of calling Steve Jobs on his ego.)

Also, he was displeased by the tagline: "When we invented the personal computer, we invented a new kind of bicycle" He had something to do with the TRS-80, which predated the Apple ][, so he thought it was rather cheeky for Apple/Jobs to claim to have invented the personal computer.

By the way, Lew Kornfeld was a big part of the project to get a special Superman comic book to try to get kids interested in computers. It's cheesy but perhaps not fully deserving of all the vitriol it gets: http://io9.com/5835188/that-stupid-time-superman-shilled-computers-for-radio-shack He talks about how that comic book happened in the book.

To Catch a Mouse, Make a Noise Like a Cheese is out of print, but I think it's a classic and worth finding a used copy.

steveha

It's like buddying up to a ravenous tiger in the hopes that you'll be eaten last or something.

When the goal, of course, is to be eaten FIRST . . .

If you're in a courtroom, you should ALWAYS assume than anyone presenting evidence has an agenda (because they almost always do).

I don't really agree with this. It's the lawyer's jobs to try to find a scientist somewhere who will vouch for their client or could provide evidence for the client. Now, ideally the scientist is from some other place that never heard of this case or knows anything about the case other than what he/she is an expert on. The science has been done long before hand, is sound, has been peer reviewed, etc, etc. The problem that I garnered from this article is when an "expert" is presented yet they are not peer reviewed, their science is not sound, nobody in their community takes them seriously, their degree is a hundred years old or questionable, etc, etc. Or they know a lot about the case and they have stepped forward to voluntarily promote their agenda to back their science by building credibility via high media courtroom cases.

The point is that when scientists come into a courtroom as expert witnesses (or really any expert witness), the only agenda on their mind should be to relate to the court what they have discovered in their research. Not how much more funding they'll get when this hits the papers. Not how much the defense is paying them to say that in their professional opinion the client is insane.

This is about the validity of science presented in trials, not whether or not the defense or prosecution as an agenda. I don't think that's ever been under question or they're a terrible defense/prosecution and the client should move for a mistrial. Psychological testimony has gotten so far out of hand that some states have taken extreme measures.

If the US takes this on, I would surmise it would fall under NASA's umbrella. With their funding being cut, though (total of $17.7 Billion for 2012*) I don't see a lot of excess to whittle off for exploring options. Most likely the military will absorb the cost, but don't expect to see "kinder and gentler" on their option list.

[*] - http://io9.com/5885042/how-will-the-white-houses-brutal-budget-cuts-affect-nasa

There are purely scientific discussions about the weaknesses of the theories of evolution, such as discussion of the unproven assumptions our conclusions are often based on.

I've learned that as a species, our brains are not only prone to believe assumptions, we practically require them to do tasks like drive a car in the night in a blizzard. I suspect the average person makes a minimum of 100-1000 false assumptions per day.

This nature of ours is part of the reason we've have been very wrong about scientific claims in the past. It baffles me how many people claim to be scientific, yet consider the assumptions used to draw scientific conclusions to be unquestionably holy, clearly directing their need to possess faith into what they believe to be scientific conclusions of a higher intelligence (arrogance).

For example, how do you know that radioactive decay rates have been constant throughout time, one of the presumptions built into the dating of fossils? Remember when we were taught that all the oil and gas had to be created by plants because hydrocarbons could only come from living organisms? Is that mathematically possible? Have you measured the quantity of plants required for this assumption to be true? These assumptions have been taught in our schools very recently as unquestionable truths.

http://io9.com/5619954/the-sun-is-changing-the-rate-of-radioactive-decay-and-breaking-the-rules-of-chemistry

Actually, now that I think about it, Star Trek almost suffered the same fate. They tried to cancel that show after every season, it wasn't the moneymaker that The Powers That Be wanted, and look at the franchise today.

Then again, TPTB tried to cancel Harlan Ellison... er... Cordwainer Bird's The Starlost as well.

Some times that's a good thing.

The same way they explain all the other evidence for a 14 billion years old universe: by ignoring or misunderstanding it.

Right at the most simple: we can triangulate the distance to a star and determine that what we see is as old as the amount of time light takes to get here. If they deny this evidence they either fail basic math or refute relativity: the scientific theory with the best proof track record ever.

One creationist crank tries to explain this away by saying that the speed of light is infinite when it's headed toward you, and twice the real speed of light when it's headed away (presumably to conserve the overall travel time to a mirror and back).

What.

If I ever meet someone trying to claim this in real life, I'm going to punch them in the fucking face.

You can measure the speed of light for yourself with a microwave, a ruler and a bag of marshmallows (or chocolate chips if you prefer). This is a common high school physics exercise. (And if I recall, we got results well within a 1% margin of error, which is pretty damn good, considering.)

Now repeat this delicious experiment in various positions and orientations relating to the microwave emitter. You'll get the same the same results whether you're in front of, behind, under, sitting on top of, or standing on your head next to the microwave. If you still aren't convinced, I would invite you to try observing from INSIDE the microwave, though you may need to modify the door to get a good look.

First decent links I found for the experiment:
http://morningcoffeephysics.com/measuring-the-speed-of-light-with-chocolate-and-a-microwave-oven
http://io9.com/5526055/use-your-microwave-to-measure-the-speed-of-light

If it's anything like the cocaine vaccine, then your concern is unwarranted.

The cocaine vaccine causes your immune system to regard cocaine as invasive and makes it impossible for you to get high, no matter how much cocaine you consume.

I read an article in Discover about it; it mentioned cases of people attempting to do just what you described. They tested with levels of cocaine thousands of times higher than normal users and did not experience any high.

I would like to be a fly on the wall in a room where cokeheads are frantically trying to snort enough to feel a buzz, and failing.

My concern is that such vaccines will eventually be administered to children at birth, for their own good, leading to a world where demand for ganja decreases to such an extent that I have to grow my own.

Yeah, this guy wants to bring on the American Taliban... he thinks government and religion (his, of course) should be the same thing.

But he's not as stupid that suggests, and he's clearly a follower of Karl Rove's strategies, if not as capable at it. The major innovation that Rove brought to political warefare was this: find your weakest point, and attack that first in your opponent. Who cares if the attack it true or fictional, the simple fact that you attacked first makes the counterattack weak.

Look at the 2004 election... John Kerry was a decorated war hero, George Bush served in the National Guard, and even there got out of actually doing much serving thanks to his family's political connections. In the past, the Bush people would have done anything possible to avoid even discussing military service. Rove orchestrates the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth", sells a bunch of complete lies about Kerry, and pretty much destroys that avenue of attack against Bush. Evil but frickin' brilliant... didn't help that Kerry didn't have a clue what to do about it.

And the Republican Party has been repeatedly anti-science. Sure, they'll claim as much the Democrats to want the business piece of science, but when they get right down to it, their policies have sent research elsewhere. Their energy policy directly lead to China so dominating solar, that more than half of the US solar companies have gone under in the last five years. Their wacko-religious policies on stem cell research all but halted it in the USA, while it's flourishing in Europe. Research when successful becomes business; neither of those are businesses easily won back. And that's not even getting into Creationism, Intelligent Design, or whatever new name they try next for the same basic goal: teaching the Christian creation myth to children as a credible scientific theory, rather than the fairy story it is. Only 22% of Republicans believe that global warming/climate change even exists, much less that it's man made... and they're sure to let you know, every time it snows... even when the increased snowfall actually is due to a warmer weather pattern.

The press is full of similar accounts:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/opinion/republicans-against-science.html
http://io9.com/5835970/will-the-anti+science-republicans-kill-conservatism-as-americans-know-it
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leonard-steinhorn/how-the-gop-became-the-an_b_970410.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2011-09-20/gop-democrats-science-evolution-vaccine/50482856/1
http://www.waronscience.com/home.php

The Dems, of course, don't have a perfect track record, and on some issues, are closer to the Republicans, or even worse:
http://reason.com/archives/2011/12/27/whos-more-anti-science-republicans-or-de
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2011-09-20/gop-democrats-science-evolution-vaccine/50482856/1

The Dems generally fail on nuclear energy (most of the scientific community is in favor of building new, modern reactors, particular interesting are Thorium reactors), irradiated foods, and even a growing faction is anti-vaccination. And animal research, though that's objection is based on moral, nor scientific grounds.

But don't forget, it was the Republicans who put through the "Noah's Ark" version of the formation of the Grand C

Unfortunately it looks like the human species (and maybe most multicellular animals!) is just not suited for long duration space flight and maybe even habitation of other (lesser gravity) worlds.

http://io9.com/5881355/microgravity-screws-us-up-at-a-cellular-level

If this turns out to be true (I know they are using fruit flies but Drosphilia are a good proxy for humans for many things) then we're going to have very serious problems in doing anything other than "plant the flag" style missions. At what point is there "enough" gravity to allow the proper development of a human fetus? Half a gravity? A third? (Mars). A sixth? (the moon). That's why probably the single most important next step for manned space flight is probably the addition of a large (capable of handling mice, preferably primates) centrifuge to the ISS. I recall that it was once meant to be part of it but was cancelled. WE NEED THESE QUESTIONS ANSWERED.

And if the news is bad and humans can't go through a complete life cycle in anything appreciably less than one gee? Then it's time to hack the genome and (possibly) create a new species! While we're at it, we might as add ability to withstand brief (1-2 minutes?) exposure to vacuum (I understand that oxygen comes out of your blood quickly and you can't hold your breath because your lungs will burst. So you pass out in seconds). Also, radiation hardening would be good (some animals like tardigrads can take thousands of times more exposure). The ability to hibernate would be great and I'm sure there are a lot more abilities we could wish for.

In short maybe Homo Astra (or something like that, I don't know Latin).

Otherwise our robots will conquer the universe without us (or at least until we can download our minds into them).

Here's a link via scientific american
http://io9.com/5872507/the-appendix-might-actually-be-the-bodys-bacteria-storehouse

Google "appendix gut bacteria" and there are loads of articles even from 3-4 years back.

Nah, NASA wouldn't do anything that sleazy.....
http://io9.com/5659951/nasa-caught-photoshopping-an-image-of-saturns-moons-what-were-they-trying-to-hide
http://news.discovery.com/space/nasa-conspiracy-image-processing.html

This is why you can find good deals on great astronomy equipment - also some cheap astronomy equipment, too...

People see these "color enhanced" or "artist's impression" pictures and go buy a telescope, eye-pieces, etc. Then go out on a clear night and besides Juper and Saturn, which are pretty cool to look at, are unimpressed with all the little brown-smudgies in the sky, which are most of what Hubble & Co. make such beautiful images out of.

Commonly referred to as Jewish math problems. Problems that have trivial, or exceedingly simple, solutions, that are impossible to find on their own. The Soviets used them to weed out Jews from the universities while pretending they weren't. They gave the normal problems to most of the kids, and the Jewish problems to the Jews. If anyone questioned them, they could say "Hey, look. It's an easy solution. It's not my fault they didn't get it." http://io9.com/5848752/how-to-solve-jewish-math-problems

There's been an avalanche of research published in the last year or so regarding these types of things, with a lot more scientific backing than the little bit I read in this article.

In one of many articles on the topic, this one raised a whole new series of questions about our ancestry:

Scientists unveil a newly-discovered, ancient human ancestor

Or check out these that all relate to different areas of genetic research, most empirical, one modeled, all relating supporting information about homo sapiens (that's us!) inbreeding with various offshoots and close relatives, with us apparently coming out the better? for it.

Neanderthal genes 'survive in us'
Sex with Neanderthals boosted human immunity
Neanderthals, Humans Interbred—First Solid DNA Evidence
Frontiers of Anthropology
Ancient DNA Reveals Secrets of Human History
Fossilised finger points to previously unknown group of human relatives

Or, in this case, can have positive consequences depending on where you live. Canada for example is expected to have significant benefits from global warming over the rest of this century, due to things like the opening of the northwest passage allowing new shipping lanes in the arctic and exploiting the arctic's natural resources, as well as (what is more important in the longer term) an increase in arable land due to melting of the permafrost which raises the country's capacity for farming as well as livable land for development. Last year a US geographer claimed the resulting economic boost will make Canada a major power. http://m.io9.com/5631708/how-canada-will-become-a-superpower-making-the-northern-rim-the-envy-of-the-world So as a Canadian it would be unpatriotic of me not to cheer on this guy lying to the US congress if that leads to increased global warming and thus helps my people.

Don't forget about IO9icide! http://io9.com/

This technology reminds me of the BrainPort device which can help blind people to route sensory data from their tongues to the part of the brain where visual processing occurs and thereby reclaim or grant them a measure of their "sight".

The brain's a funny place.

And I'm sure nothing would ever go wrong

After the betrayal that was "Lost", I'm no longer watching anything by J. J. Abrams. Apparently the latest model of attracting viewers is to keep throwing mysteries and questions on them, without any plan to ever answer them. This is not something I am interested in.

Then I guess you'll really like his new series, "Alcatraz".

http://io9.com/5739027/could-jj-abrams-new-show-be-more-bizarre-than-lost-heres-everything-we-know-so-far

http://io9.com/5725175/why-are-thousands-of-dead-birds-suddenly-falling-from-the-sky

They say it better than I could:

One thing to remember is what day and time the incident occurred: near midnight on New Year's Eve. Plenty of people mark the beginning of the new year with fireworks, and it's possible these celebrations caused this nasty accident. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesman Keith Stephens says the commission currently favors this theory, as fireworks that were shot off in just the right area near the birds when they were roosting could have scared them, creating a traumatic stress event.

Why are thousands of dead birds suddenly falling from the sky?

Obviously, birds don't usually fall from the sky when fireworks are shot off, so what would have happened here? We do know that birds tend to be more highly concentrated in rural areas, meaning one big fireworks blast in just the wrong area would have terrified thousands of birds all at once.

This would have happened at night, when birds are roosting on the ground - and if this did indeed happen when the birds were asleep, experts say the trauma would have been enough to kill them, as the terrified birds frantically flew into each other in the heavy night fog. Witnesses have since come forward to say they saw a person setting off industrial-grade fireworks near the roosting area, which would seem to back up that theory.

Try some of the SciFi recommended by Richard Stallman, like Ethan of Athos

http://io9.com/349936/three-science-fiction-novels-recommended-by-richard-stallman

You realize that since the start of the industrial revolution the average lifespan has increased dramatically, right?

Surely that is an indication that we are learning something, and mostly what we are doing is making a positive difference.

Of course the process isn't perfect - no human activity is. But to claim that we are worse off is plain stupid and ignorant; the facts don't support that in any way shape or form. The ideas that natural is intrinsically good and synthetic intrinsically bad are a from an unfortunately old and common meme, the same one that was disproven when Woodward performed his total synthesis of streptomycin, or much earlier when Wohler synthesized urea.

Most of the diseases that you are concerned about weren't even diagnosable 150 years ago, and certainly weren't public health concerns then. They had much bigger problems.

What is undeniable is that the average human today enjoys a longer, much more disease free and healthier life today than 150 years ago.

The lifestyle that you describe in India doesn't give it's people better health or longer lifespan over say the inhabitants of the US or other modern nations, the numbers are clear.

The idea that we don't know anything about biochemistry is preposterous. Hell, we are building our own lifeforms now. From scratch.

http://io9.com/5543843/scientists-create-artificial-life-+-synthetic-dna-that-can-self+replicate

"This is the first synthetic cell that's been made, and we call it synthetic because the cell is totally derived from a synthetic chromosome, made with four bottles of chemicals on a chemical synthesizer, starting with information in a computer," said Venter. "This becomes a very powerful tool for trying to design what we want biology to do. We have a wide range of applications [in mind]."

Has anyone made a bot that "plays" facebook yet? I bet a bot could be very socially successful on facebook, given the depth of the interaction. We could approach machine intelligence by lowering the standard for the Turing test.

How about Suzette ?

Vac man! Is that you?

Alien (1979) http://io9.com/355353/you-have-ten-seconds-to-reach-minimum-safe-distance By the shape of the nostromo and the large flat platform at the base I'm going to say that they had it right before any of those others.

http://io9.com/5496171/george-lucas-wants-to-make-jedi-babies-kids-series

A few things; First, there are pedophiles who have never actually done anything other than collect photographs of children in both suggestive poses and sexual situations that other pedophiles have made available. They may not have access to children or the photos may be enough and they never go beyond that.

Second, I would highly recomend that you watch "Witch Hunt", its about a flurry of child molestation cases in Bakersfield CA. It is both tragic and interesting when you see how "protect the children" is over used and hurts innocent people.

Third, the issues raised by the images that these full body scanners goes way beyond child porn. Looking back at my comment I realize that I used the "Think of the Children" card to a limited degree when my intent was to highlight how the images can be misused in general.

The thing is that its not the image that matters, its how it is seen and interpreted by the mind of the viewer. Even a fuzzy black and white scanner image could be enough for someone to get their jollies, or deeply offend them. Consider that a man has been sentenced to 20 years for possession of "child porn" in Iowa,Link, only thing is the images were all drawings, Manga. Got a copy of "Evangelion, Life, Death, Rebirth" in your video collection? The Hospital scene with Asuka topless would get you jail time in some jurisdictions. It wasn't the content of the images that caused the trouble, it was how it was, and is, interpreted and presented to the jury/press.

As soon as one scanner image of a child is found on a pedophiles computer the way those images are interpreted and responded to will alter radically against the scanners, might even be a good thing.

Clearly this article must be a fabrication since everyone knows that Apple has the Evil App Store®.

Seriously, this really is a non story. Now if they pulled an Amazon that would be news.

but personally, and most of the world, would actually rather have things targeted at them with actual relevancy.

Most of modern advertising is an attempt to control your behavior -- it's applied psychology, a weak form of mind control designed to get you to buy stuff you do not need or want, to keep feeding the unsustainable society of consumption.

And you'd like it to be more targeted and effective? Fsck that.

But that isn't really the main point, the main point is you already never had any privacy when you decided to stay connected to society, live with it or leave society.

Uh, no. What you are saying makes no sense. Up until the late 20th century, for all of human history you had privacy as soon as you went home and closed the door, or even walked out into a field away from other people. Freedom from company, which was easily achieved, meant freedom from observation. But now we have machines to do the observation.

Your "live with it or leave" declaration is irrational. In order to make society livable and sustainable, we must construct it with respect for basic human needs. Privacy is one of them. Respect privacy or watch society collapse.

But the simple fact remains that if you live in the walls of society, you are expected to make sacrifices in freedoms and privacy in order to keep it stable.

No. Again, what you are saying makes no sense. A working society is a network whereby people expand their choices and thus have greater freedoms. And a respect for privacy is one of the fundamental requirement for a society to flourish.

Because of long-ignored internal contradictions, however, the American research enterprise has become so severely dysfunctional that it actively prevents the great majority of the young Americans aspiring to do research from realizing their dreams.

You mean like arresting young chemists because their equipment serves a dual purpose and could be used to create something illegal like meth?

You missed the worst part of this case. Because the student was worried about missing out on classes and losing a years worth of university work, he pled guilty to 'non-criminal charges' and paid a $3,000 so he wouldn't lose any more time. In other words, he plead guilty to "not breaking the law" and accepted a fine.

You may ask, what would he plead guilty to? Well, when the Police first came in and asked him where the meth was, where the explosives were, he "refused" to show them, instead claiming he had no such thing. But since the Police found materials that could be used to "potentially" make explosives, obviously he was "withholding information". Never mind that the average garage has materials that could be used to make explosives.

This was just so stupid on so many levels, but as the OP mentioned, it's pretty much another huge disincentive to science.