XiXiDu comments on Q&A with Abram Demski on risks from AI - Less Wrong

22 Post author: XiXiDu 17 January 2012 09:43AM

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Comment author: XiXiDu 10 February 2012 09:18:32AM 2 points [-]

Here is my list of "really stupid, frivolous academic pursuits" that have lead to major scientific breakthroughs.

Studying monkey social behaviors and eating habits lead to insights into HIV (Radiolab: Patient Zero)
Research into how algae move toward light paved the way for optogenetics: using light to control brain cells (Nature 2010 Method of the Year).
Black hole research gave us WiFi (ICRAR award)
Optometry informs architecture and saved lives on 9/11 (APA Monitor)
Certain groups HATE SETI, but SETI's development of cloud-computing service SETI@HOME paved the way for citizen science and recent breakthroughs in protein folding (Popular Science)
Astronomers provide insights into medical imaging (TEDxBoston: Michell Borkin)
Basic physics experiments and the Fibonacci sequence help us understand plant growth and neuron development