…moves to a whole new level.

For those who don’t worry about this sort of thing…the day is coming when science will be able to scan your head as you enter a public arena. By observing activity in various parts of your brain, science can already determine things like propensity for violence, lack of impulse control, etc. Whole body x-rays (according to something I saw recently about medical advances) can be done and present images on computer screens in less than 30 seconds. All that’s needed is to combine these abilities to start scanning people. And why not? We’re already submitting to credit checks just for the privilege of paying to get on an airplane.

Hmmm…if they replace cameras at stoplights with these devices, could they ticket you before you run the red light?

The days of the pre-crime division are approaching quickly. The reactions of most citizens to it remind me very much of the story about the frog in the water which is slowly increases in temperature. The frog that would quickly try to avoid the boiling pot sits silently in the slow cooker until he’s dinner.

UPDATE September 30, 2004: There used to be a link from the words “moves to a whole new level” to a CNN story about a town in Florida. You know how most cities have cameras at intersections these days to photograph red light runners? Well the city in the CNN story had tied their cameras to a computer system and every single car that passed the camera was subjected to a background check. If the car triggered any alarms, the nearest police unit was notified, so they could go after the car. Talk about Big Brother!