I try to treat my mind and intellect like how an athlete treats their body. Keeping balance to maintain my edge is essential - meaning I don't believe in overworking, but time off to stay sharp and avoid mistakes.
I wholeheartedly believe we can reduce violence and killing in our world, but we are not doing everything we can to achieve that goal. That’s partly because the discussions we are having about public safety, violent crime, and gun ownership are stuck in the past.
For those who want to gain a deeper understanding of non-lethal weapons technology and safety, I included this appendix. It will introduce you to the general concepts of non-lethal weapons, then walk through a first-principles design approach to building the non-lethal weapons that have the potential to make bullets obsolete in the not-too-distant future. Then I’ll discuss some of the risks that have to be evaluated when deciding to put them to use.
To listen to some in the media tell it, the world is an awful place and getting worse. But if I tried to make one argument in THE END OF KILLING, it’s that there are reasons to be hopeful—and those reasons have to do with data about basic human existence...
In The End of Killing, I mentioned a concept video that demonstrates a lethal drone with unbelievable precision. You can watch the video below. In the book, I argue that something like this should worry us, because if we can get to this level of precision, why couldn't we also get to a sufficiently advanced level of non-lethality? That's the question that is at the heart of the book, and my life's work.
