Dan Brown: The human species has never created a technology it hasn't weaponized

https://english.elpais.com/culture/2025-09-21/dan-brown-the-human-species-has-never-created-a-technology-that-it-hasnt-weaponized.html

19•pilingual•4mo ago

Comments

vivzkestrel•4mo ago

AI is now the latest to spread propaganda, create deepfakes and alter narratives. While it has a few good things happening around, much of it feels like enabling the masses to create slop

BoredPositron•4mo ago

I don't think it's the masses creating slop. It's just throwing a megaphone to the slop makers.

fennecbutt•4mo ago

Oh, soooo insightful.

Calvin02•4mo ago

Pacemakers? MRI machines? Kidney Dialysis?

nerdsniper•4mo ago

Allegedly the CIA has researched weaponizing pacemakers by hacking them at a distance.

But your point stands, and a different argument would be needed to refute it.

kazinator•4mo ago

What is the weaponization of a memory-foam mattress?

Of a dove-tail joint in woodworking?

> Derek Amato began playing the piano magnificently after nearly drowning in a swimming pool. It happened in 2006. Ten years later, a 16-year-old soccer player, Reuben Nsemoh, began speaking perfect Spanish after being knocked out by a ball.

Tabloid bullshit.

nmstoker•4mo ago

This is the sort of idea that gets momentum just because people don't find it easy to recall counter examples on the basis the idea puts the problem: most people aren't mentally indexing tech on a weaponized or not basis. Therefore to validate the idea they need to do a scan of technologies in their memory, many give up and just accept it.

Fortunately as people here demonstrated there are a myriad of counter examples.

I look forward to someone challenging Brown regarding the weaponization of the dishwasher! And the zipper, velcro, food processors, air-conditioning, elevators, escalators, weighing scales, thermometers and wind turbines!

oreially•4mo ago

Going back in history more: aqueducts, looms, pottery, and baths were not really ever weaponized.

stevenalowe•4mo ago

Supposedly someone(s) tried to assassinate Miyamoto Musashi by trapping him in the bath

c_o_n_v_e_x•4mo ago

Humans weaponizing water flow (or lack there of) has been routinely used through out history.

Zee2•4mo ago

I’ll give it a shot. Zippers/velcro are critical for most modern military gear. Elevators are used to increase the storage capacity for warplanes on aircraft carriers. Thermometers (well, any temperature sensing device) are important for many weapons systems, guidance computers, etc. Wind turbines… hmm, the infamous Stuka siren was basically a wind turbine welded to the side of the plane!

(This is mostly facetious)

djohnston•4mo ago

Antibiotics

owenversteeg•4mo ago

Wow, this is a terrible interview. The interviewer repeatedly references his book Inferno. I like the Telegraph review of it, "Don't Make Fun of Renowned Dan Brown", available here sans paywall: https://onehundredpages.wordpress.com/2013/06/12/dont-make-f...

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