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How to Become A Real-World Superhero
utherdoul writes "Batman isn't from outer space and wasn't born with a mutant gene --he uses his riches, raw determination and technological know-how to equip himself to fight evil. So why couldn't the average geek do the same? I've written a story for Forbes.com that breaks down the Dark Knight's expenses and explains what it would cost to become a real-world Batman using commercially available training and technology." From the article: "Batman's suit is a modified piece of infantry armor built by the applied sciences division of Wayne Enterprises. It's waterproof, bulletproof, knife-proof and temperature-regulating. Paired with an impact-resistant, graphite-composite cowl and spiked ninja-style gauntlets, it allows Batman to protect himself against everything from swords to machine guns."
Looks remarkably similar in content to:3 1&tid=97&tid=99
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/06/15/22392
and just 6 days later.
You call me a pedant? I prefer the term "correct"
Sigh. Im starting to feel like a comic book nerd. It's actually quite pathetic. If I remember correctly Batman's cape is bulletproof also. All he has to do is throw up the cape and he is pretty much shielded. Also, the only major injury that Batman has had is a broken back by Bane I believe. During this time period he had to have another person replace him as Batman.
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
The second act discusses the life of a woman who named herself Zora and decided to, from an early age, learn all the skills needed to become a comic book style superhero. She achieves her goals but then learns that there are very few job opportunities that require all the skills that she now possesses. It's well worth listening to.
They're called the police. They patrol the steets at night looking for the bad guys. They are equipped with pistols, fast cars, body armor and even sometimes heavier weaponry and stun gas. Doesn't stop them from getting severely hurt and sometimes killed.
If we take batman as an archtype, then out of perhaps 1,000,000 people in his circumstance, parents dead, police unable to do nother, perhaps 50,000 will have the personal resources to do something about it. Out fo those 50,000, perhaps 49,000 will continue with thier life of either making money or spending the money that is now thiers due to the demise of their parents. Another 900 probably offed thier parent for the inheritence.
So of the 100 that are left, 10 are of the right age to become a badass villian hunter. Five of those turn to the profitable likfe of evil rather than the hopeless life of a hero. Four die trying. One surives.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
So what are you going to do to *prevent* this little old lady from being robbed?
...and tons more.
...in fact most Comic Book Heros.
m , or google for 'too smart to be a cop'.
m l or google for 'police have no duty to protect'.
Well, if you React enough, you Proact.
You see, if you call the cops, or chase the bad guys enough, thenthe bad guys will not hang around. You have therefore prevented any more crimes by them (at least in your area).
Illegally spy on others? Knock a few heads around to get some information? A bit of street torture? Maybe a lynching to teach bad guys a lesson?
I'm sure Francis Castiglione would agree.
Oh, you're not sure who he is? Comic Books were written about him. Recently, a movie was made about him. He was the Hero. People looke dup to him. People cheered him on.
He's better known as Frank Castle, or 'The Punisher'.
AND he's not the only one. There are PLENTY of movies out there- popular movies, movies that make big money because they depict what people want to see- that have a hero who breaks the law to get the bad guys.
Lethal Weapon
Death Wish
Beverly Hills Cop
Die Hard
Not to mention the topic of this article- Batman. He is not a cop. He's a vigilante! And people love him.
Same with Spiderman.
Superman.
The X-men.
So, how can vigilantes be so popular, so loved, yet be illegal??
Wanna really help on the small scale? Become a cop.
No thanks. Firstly, I'm much too smart to be a cop. No, really- there is at lease one case where a man was not hired as a cop because he was too smart!! Check out: www.libertocracy.com/Webessays/police/dumbcops.ht
Secondly, Cops don't really help stop crime! It's true. All they do is show up later to take a report. Oh, sure, sometimes they are present when a crime happens, but not often. Besides, the courts have held that police have no duty to protect people!! See publicrights.org/Kennesaw/PoliceResponsibility.ht
Lastly, I don't have the overwhelming need to control others that all cops seem to have.
something being legal doesn't make it right, either...
Everything I need to know about copyrights I learned from Slashdot.
You're forgetting that despite the claims of oh-so-many martial arts teachers, you aren't a master in a year, two years, or five years. In fact, where I trained, I never heard of ANYONE becoming a black belt in less than five years, and the person that made it in five was an exceptional case. None of this "Rex Kwan Do" stuff, you had to earn that belt.
Besides, the article isn't stupid because the prices are off, the article is stupid because it's based on the premise that many of these things are even possible.
Flying cars have been promised for decades. They've even been technologically feasable for decades: Just not economical. Bulletproof, temperature-controlled body suits that are even wearable just aren't possible at all with today's technology, or any technology that's even on the radar, so to speak.
That speed (7 m/sec) is equivalent to a fall from about 8 feet (2.5 m). That sounds a bit high, but maybe mil chutes fall faster? (Perhaps it's the extra weight of the equipment.) Back when I learned to skydive (I forget the chute -- TU-something, although the sport chute of the day was the ParaCommander - early 70s) we were told it was about the same as a 4 foot drop, and practiced PLFs by jumping from a platform not quite that high.
-- Alastair
Yeah, and the energy from a .44 magnum is about the same as a fast softball.
Big deal.
.44 magnum bullet: let's say for a Desert Eagle:
Weight - 240 Gr.; Muzzle Velocity - 1180 fps.(~259m/s); source
hmmm, now i'm rusty but:
Softball: 400g, fast pitch: 60-70mph (~105km/h~= 29m/s)
Ok, if I'm not mistaken you can measure the kinetic energy with the momentum (please correct me if I am wrong) with E=(mv^2)/2
E1=kinetic energy from ball
E1=(0.4 kg)/2 * (29 m/s)^2=0.2 kg * 841 m2/s2= 168.2 J
E2=kinetic energy from bullet
E2=(0.24 kg)/2 * (259 m/s)^2=0.12kg * 67081 m2/s2 ~= 8050 J
sorry, but 168.2 and 8050 are not 'about the same', not even the same ball park.
Here we go again!
Marijuana is a part of the Rastafari religion, so it's incredibly comparable.
In a way, Batman is one of the LEAST realistic superheros. Superman is invulnerable, and Wolverine has a healing factor, but Batman doesn't have any of that. And I don't care how good you are, you'll get injuries that will at least slow you down, and make it more likely that you'll get MORE injuries until it's humanly impossible to continue as Batman does.
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
So is the Project Grizzly guy...suit and all!
http://www.projectgrizzly.net/
No, drugs = BAD, alcohol = OKAY. Don't you see the difference? That's why we lock up drug users.
LRC, the best-read libertarian site on the web