Re: [DIYbio] 3D printing medical devices

On Tue, Oct 2, 2012 at 4:20 PM, Nathan McCorkle <nmz787@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sun, Sep 30, 2012 at 11:49 PM, Michael Turner
> <michael.eugene.turner@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Mon, Oct 1, 2012 at 12:40 PM, General Oya <generaloya@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I went to BUGGS community lab this saturday here in Baltimore and was
>>> chatting with Tom about this technology. He and I both have been thinking
>>> about the use of this on bone and possibly ivory.
>>> I really would like to forward an initiative = Faux' Real to see if we can
>>> harness and mass produce ivory and endangered furs to destroy the lucrative
>>> trade in poaching that continues at an accelerated pace during these trying
>>> global economic times.
>>
>> [snip]
>>
>> Especially good if you could clone out of the wild. That way, there's
>> little or no basis for distinguishing between "fake" and "real"
>> because they'd both be about as real as a DNA test could determine.
>
> I think 'real' in the sense of Ivory or leather/fur is its durability
> and aesthetic.

Not everybody is you, Nathan. The real problem here, ultimately, with
species being hunted to extinction is people who won't settle for
anything except from what's certifiably derived from a particular dead
animal. It's a status thing. Conspicuous consumption. Exclusivity,
rarity -- proof of having paid a high price. As a signal to others:
"You are lower than I am." They aren't even necessarily appreciative
of the objective qualities. In the case of aphrodisiacs made of rhino
horn, there actually aren't any -- except for some possible placebo
effect, I suppose.

But if there's actually no way to tell the difference, then there's no
way to credibly offer that from-a-real-dead-animal certification.
Except perhaps for the consumers to go out and kill the animal
themselves and monitor the process from raw ingredient to final
product, end-to-end. Chinese consumers of rhino-horn derivative are
not likely to go all the way to Africa (or even Sumatra) for the
privilege.

Regards,
Michael Turner
Project Persephone
1-25-33 Takadanobaba
Shinjuku-ku Tokyo 169-0075
(+81) 90-5203-8682
turner@projectpersephone.org
http://www.projectpersephone.org/

"Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward
together in the same direction." -- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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