[alicebot-aiethics] Ok, who would deny Hawking the first artificial body?

[Robby Garner]

Hi Tamara,

Tamara Thompson wrote:

> At one point [Hawking] made a joke, and I embarrassed myself in front of all the
> Dallas social scene, because I was listening, and because I got the joke, I
> laughed really loudly.  Everyone else was so quiet.  I've never quite figured
> that moment out: were they just not listening?  Was his computer voice hard to
> understand?  Did they not like the joke?  <smile>

It might be that they were too intimidated to laugh at a crippled man. 
As someone who at times has been confined to a wheelchair, I have
noticed that there are some social cues that change with the
handicapped.

People try not to look in the eyes of a person in a wheelchair. Most
people try not to look at all, perhaps for fear that they will embarrass
themselves or the handicapped person.  Other people go out of their way
to help you, even though you may be managing okay by yourself, but they
certainly wouldn't help a "normal" person that way.

Being out in public with a noticeable handicap brings with it some
strange reactions.  It produces a feeling that one is both invisible,
and yet painfully ornate, brought to the attention of people who don't
want to think about your problems, so in many cases they might
over-react.

But my guess about why nobody laughed but you, is that the others either
didn't get the joke, but you did because you are smart, or possibly that
they didn't laugh out of some misplaced sense of respect for Hawking,
his great intellect, and his physical burden.

regards,
Robby.