Smart Weapons

The device attaches to the trigger of a handgun, which can then only be unlocked by biometric authentication, preventing any unauthorized user from firing the weapon. Drawing on breakthroughs in mobile technology, the trigger is released by similar fingerprint sensors to those used in Apple's iPhone 5S. Those sensors are approved by the FBI, and widely found in security scanners. "The key is reliability," says Kiyani. "The sensor has proved itself in different sectors over the past few years and the market is aware of its capability." The gun is enabled in under a second from first contact, and engineers are chipping away to further reduce the time. Eventually, it is hoped the lock will be integrated and the release will be instant. I guess the question now is whether it will make an impact on the safety of guns. Also, what if the government makes laws requiring all civilian-owned firearms to have this device attached, and it is a serious felony to own or purchase one without it, as well as removing it? Just something to think about.

Something Wrong with the Generation

It is an age tested thing, every generation says that the one before it is too uptight and the one after it is too wild. I guess this begs the question if each progressive generation is getting wilder and it there an end? The case of the girl that sued her parents for tuition has gotten national attention and some of the reason is that there might be the widespread aversion many older adults feel toward juveniles and how “entitled” youth appear to be with all their communication services and newest gadgets, at least in the eyes of the old. Even science can get in on the juvenioa. Most recent have been the brain imaging findings that note our brains continue to develop through adolescence and into adulthood…and until we’re dead, really. Some research suggests that these differences are quite adaptive, but, nonetheless much of the narrative on this has been misused to portray teens as zombified hedonistic fools unable to restrain their least impulse. Teens and young adults remain one group of people that can be publicly disparaged with almost no condemnation. Some of the anti-youth rhetoric gets wrapped up in language about “protecting” our youth. But a vein of true loathing runs through much of the discussion. And until we’re honest about that it will continue to produce urban legends and junk science.