Scientist Infects Self With Computer Virus 393
superapecommando writes "A British scientist claims to have become the first human to be infected by a computer virus, in an experiment he says has important implications for the future of implantable technology. Dr Mark Gasson from the University of Reading infected a computer chip with the virus, then implanted it in his hand and transmitted the virus to a PC to prove that malware can move between human and computer."
Epic fail. (Score:4, Interesting)
What is it with implanting things? (Score:3, Interesting)
What is it with nerds and implanting technology into their bodies? It doesn't seem to have much to do with practical use. Is it some kind of power fantasy?
All Time Low (Score:2, Interesting)
For me, this post and summary is an all time low for Slashdot.
Maybe if the summary had said "check out how stupid this is..."
Geeze. C'mon. What if somebody has their abdomen opened up and puts an entire laptop in there? What's the difference?
Re:epic fail (Score:1, Interesting)
For crying out loud, what is it about the University of Reading - I'm a Reading local, did maths at uni and got thoroughly annoyed by http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/British_computer_scientist's_new_%22nullity%22_idea_provokes_reaction_from_mathematicians and in fact got quoted
No, not really (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, no, this fails to be even Uri Geller kind of BS. Uri Geller was a fraud, but he knew how to put on a good show and sell an illusion that was actually quite appealing. In fact, a notion that many people wanted desperately to believe in.
And even if you didn't believe in magic, it was at least very interesting as in trying to figure out "where's the trick"? Before Randi went and showed how it's done, it wasn't obvious at all to us non-trained in the conjuror arts. It was a good trick.
But this guy and Captain Cyborg... words fail me. Really.
I'm a SF fan. I like the idea of cyborgs and all. I like the idea of transferring information directly from a machine to a human and viceversa, though I must qualify it there: to a human brain. I'm even willing to entertain the notion of human consciousness transferred to a machine -- though not to the extent of being a techno-rapture cultist or anything. Etc.
I should be exactly the market target for this kind of stuff. Except not _this_ kind of retarded stuff.
Someone thinking that implanting an RFID chip under the skin makes him Captain Cyborg, or this guy thinking that storing a computer virus on a chip under his skin makes him "infected"... isn't even funny. It's ridiculous, stupid, and just a complete non-sequitur for the actual topic of cyborgs. A guy with a pacemaker or hearing aid is actually more of a "cyborg" because those actually interface with the living tissue and perform a function. A chip that's under the skin but not actually connected to anything biological just is not it.
It doesn't even leave you thinking "what is the trick" or "good trick", because there is no trick. It's just a bad case of equivocation. It's transfer from PC to human only by virtue of the vagueness of the phrase, rather than any useful sense or interesting sense.
If we're to talk Uri Geller comparison, guys like these are more like the equivalent of some guy claiming he's the first guy to eat with his arse. So he shoves a spoon's handle up his arse, takes it out, and then eats something with that spoon.
It's freaking sad, that's what it is.
Re:epic fail (Score:5, Interesting)
I recall reading an article by an actual academic who described Warwick and Reading as an "embarrassing distraction". Mind you, I can't remember his name, but everybody knows about Captain Cyborg, so I guess Warwick has achieving his primary goal: self promotion.
I do object to calling anyone associated with Warwick a "scientist" though. The level of their (published) research isn't even up to Mythbusters standards. Playing around with £10 of gubbins from Maplin then injecting it under your skin does not make you a cyborg, just a cretin.