Posthuman Blues

Pete Schultz, Deep Impact scientist: "This city-sized object is floating around in a vacuum. The only time it gets bothered is when the sun cooks it a little or someone slams an 820-pound wakeup call at it at 23,000 miles per hour."

This choice example of "tough-guy" science talk was identified by Bruce Sterling at Beyond the Beyond. I wonder if Sterling realizes that scientific tough-talk is much more pervasive than it has any right to be. After all, JPL press statements about the Mars rovers are chock-full of unseemly references to "monster trucks."

An "820-pound wakeup call?" The only one here in need of a wakeup call is Pete, who's functioning under the tragic misconception that he isn't a dork.