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Thread ID: 65105	2006-01-07 22:57:00	Poll: Trust factor - machines vs instruments	Billy T (70)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
419093	2006-01-07 22:57:00	Hi Team This is a serious question. For matters related to my work, I am interested in finding out the general public's perceptions of machines vs instruments. The basic question is whether you would be more comfortable placing your life and liberty in the hands of a machine or an instrument. The parameters and circumstances are as wide as your imagination might take them, but at the end of it all, the performance, precision and reliability of either a machine or an instrument might have a profound effect on your future, or that of a loved one. There are only two options, so you have to come down on one side or the other. No fence sitting. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated and the results will be reported as part of a presentation at a conference in the US later this year. Even if you don't usually do polls, please answer this one. Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
419094	2006-01-07 23:00:00	OK, but I am still looking for the Poll.... [edit] It was not there when I posted.....	godfather (25)
419095	2006-01-07 23:06:00	Seems OK, has registered a vote. Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
419096	2006-01-07 23:18:00	well to be honest i don't trust either. however i would trust an instrument before i would trust a machine. i would rather have my fate deided by my action, even if the decisions are made from info supplied by an instrument, than have my fate taken out of my hands by a machine.	tweak'e (69)
419097	2006-01-07 23:33:00	What is the question? Sounds like something a certain other forum member would post. An aircraft is a machine but it has instruments.	Safari (3993)
419098	2006-01-07 23:44:00	What is the question? Sounds like something a certain other forum member would post. An aircraft is a machine but it has instruments. i think what billyt is getting at is would you trust an aircraft flown by people or one flown by a computer? however would you trust the insruments? strangly enough a lot of people trust their own judgment over an instrument. a classic case is tramping/hunting with a compass. a lot of people will think the compass is wrong when they "know they are going in the right direction". also i've heard of piolets who would rather trust their "seat of the pants" than their instruments. for me...i'm used to instuments being wrong or "wide tollerance" so i never trust one completely.	tweak'e (69)
419099	2006-01-07 23:47:00	Instrument, would rather have some control than none	Myth (110)
419100	2006-01-07 23:49:00	All I can say is he must get a huge amount of satisfaction from his work knowing that research like this has such a huge impact on everyday life and humanity in general.	Safari (3993)
419101	2006-01-07 23:58:00	Machines can have additional checks. Instruments can require some processing from humans .. and that is where the mistakes get made. In dense fog, I'd trust the computer over a pilot :)	gibler (49)
419102	2006-01-08 00:03:00	In surgery, a scalpel is an instrument . Normally it is "handled" by the hand of the surgeon . In some modern microsurgery procedures, the scalpel is "manipulated" (a hand word, again ;) ) by a machine which is being controlled by a surgeon . That gives the surgeon the ability to make very small movements, with perfect steadiness . It could be argued that the scalpel+machine is still an "instrument", perhaps a better instrument . What is the difference between a machine and an instrument here? Do you mean an instrument is something which is directly controlled by a human . Is a machine something which acts without reference to a human? Is a traditional toaster an "instrument", and a pop-up toaster a "machine"? Many modern measuring instruments contain "intelligence" . Many modern machines contain "intelligence" . Any non-trivial software contains errors . It's made by humans . Humans make errors . They are made by humans .	Graham L (2)
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