Pianka: Charles Manson times ten to the 9th?

George Ou
ZD Net
Apr. 05, 2006

While this isn't exactly a normal topic that I cover, I think this is definitely worth reading for anyone interested in technology, science, or humanity in general.

In a recent meeting at the Texas Academy of Science, Professor Eric R. Pianka was honored after he advocated the death of 5 billion people on the planet to save the Earth. Dr. Shawn Carlson who is the Executive Editor and Founder of the Society for Amateur Scientists posted this compelling editorial on the dangers of what he described as a Charles Manson raised by nine orders of magnitude. After speaking with Dr. Carlson on the phone, Carlson pointed out that Manson who isn't nearly as charismatic as Pianka had his followers killed around 7 people whereas a future "Piankian" would try and kill 5,000,000,000. Dr. Carson also noted that Pianka like Manson technically never advocated anyone's death but that he merely would like to see it happen. The difference between Piankians and Manson's "family" is that the Piankians work in the scientific field with access to potential weapons of mass destruction.

Dr. Carlson challenged the notion that their is any academic freedom worth protecting since Pianka's is only expressing his own political beliefs rather than science. He even goes in to an in-depth analysis of Pianka's psychological condition noting Pianka's own obituary. At the end of his editorial, Dr. Carlson includes contact information for the University of Texas and the Texas Academy of Science who unfortunately are lending credibility to Pianka. It was interesting to note that during our brief conversation on the phone, Dr. Carlson told me that he had been bombarded with hate mail from environmentalists.