Slashdot Mirror
Pentagon Working on "Human Fear" Weapons
An anonymous reader writes "Animals use pheromones to attract each other for sex, and warn each other of danger. Now, Wired reports, military researchers are working to harness the 'human fear' pheromone to create a scent of terror. The pheromone could lead to smell-based terrorist sensors, and new weapons that rely on 'contagious' stress."
I fear it might not work.
female pheromones would work for most slashdotters
EZReady
Turning your "War on Terror" into the "War of Terror," since 2008.
Just -1, Troll talking to another.
You'd almost think that after declaring a war on terror an organization wouldn't use terror against enemies in the most literal way possible...
Our *three* weapons are fear, surprise, and pheromones...and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.... Our *four*...no... *Amongst* our weapons.... Amongst our weaponry...are such elements as fear, surprise....
...but now a gas mask?
"I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show
Does that not count as biological warfare?
People who have no sig are cool
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
And there is no reason that a suicide bomber actually is afraid - that phase may have passed over months ago and the person may have actually come to terms with his/her destiny.
So someone is barking up the wrong tree again...
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
You mean a squad of guys busting into your house with sub-machine guns doesn't cause this effect?
A weapon that exploits fear 'scents' could backfire just as easily. Traditionally, fear will cause someone to flee or at the very least become nervous and therefore have his/her decision-making skills crippled. But for some, fear is a great motivator. If i'm gonna get into a fight and feel extra fearful because of this exploit, i might come back twice as hard to overcome whatever is in my way.
just a thought....
This sig contains repetition and redundancy.
Marge: What happened? You didn't do anything!
Dr. Hibbert: Oh, didn't I? [laughs] Nothing dissolves glue better than human sweat. I knew Bart would panic and start perspiring at the sight of this button applicator!
Bart: Couldn't you have just turned the heat up a little?
Dr. Hibbert: [sinister] Oh, heavens no! It had to be terror sweat!
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
Why don't they make a "love" weapon instead.
After all, I thought the US was supposed to have a reputation for turning enemies into friends.
Read my Very Short "Stories"
"We have nothing to fear except Fear Itself®"
and spiders
This is, of course, pure BS. It's just psyops. The goal is to make press releases about all kinds of non-existent technological advances in an attempt to discourage certain people from even trying to board aircraft.
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
As someone who is now in the process of recovering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder this, literally, scares the shit out of me.
It is simply stunning that someone can think this is a good idea. Fear is one of the strongest and most primal of all human emotions. Use of such a weapon (if it can even be developed) would be considered flat-out torture in my book. Anyone that has lived through the hell that is PTSD where your in a constant and uncontrollable state of fear would probably agree.
I think it's safe to say that such a weapon would inflict some sort of trauma on the victims. Research suggests that 25% of the population will suffer from PTSD when exposed to a traumatic event (sorry I can't recall where I read this so it could be BS). A weapon that has the potential to leave 25% of victims exposed to this sort of delayed hell is incredibly irresponsible. PTSD can lie latent for many, many years (in my case it's been nearly my whole life).
Just to reiterate, this is a really fucking terrible idea. Don't fuck with fear...
Furthermore, scared people do some crazy shit. This is a very good and very powerful survival mechanism.