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

[Tamara Thompson]

Good point about the social protocols of dealing with handicapped people.  hmmm.

Maybe because Tucson has so many handicapped people who are visible, I think the
definition of 'politeness' has been changing over the years.  There's an atmosphere
of 'attempting equality', though the stigma is of course still there.

The black hole article is exciting--I'll try to find out more today about X-ray
observations in general.  How are they so sure the increased brief activity wasn't
something else?

Tamara

Robby Garner wrote:

> 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.
>
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