- Aviation
Aviation, on the surface, has many aspects that could attract someone to the field, but as I dug deeper, something kept coming up: pilots who suffer from depression. While I knew about this for a while, I also saw the lack of support given to pilots when they are diagnosed with depressive symptoms. In my opinion, most suicide-by-pilot incidents could have been prevented, most notably Germanwings Flight 9525, where the first officer descended the plane into the French mountains. My biggest concern is with how the FAA handled these cases. While the FAA can only govern American pilots, I feel it’s not really encouraged for pilots to report their thoughts because of the risk of losing a job they spent years training for, so my question is, “If the current system for reporting depressive symptoms is not working, why isn’t the FAA not making any huge changes and consulting with pilots and mental health experts to make it more welcoming to report these thoughts?”
2. Technology
While AI is not a new topic, with how fast technology is expanding, many controversial topics are beginning to rise. One of them is Neuralink. It’s one of Elon Musk’s technology projects, and it intends to better brain-machine interfaces, record memories, and develop other brain-related technologies. While current testing isn’t going as planned, with 15 of the 23 monkeys dying, it seems like Elon Musk is still on the project. Inevitably, one day, human testing will begin. Humans’ and monkeys’ brains are similar but not identical, meaning that no matter how much animal testing they do, human testing will have unknown consequences. My question is “At what point does the promise of dramatic technological advancement outweigh the risk of human loss in the process of developing the technology?”
3. Gaming
Gaming at first can seem inviting to everyone, but the culture can be extremely toxic from within. Since there’s a level of anonymity when gaming, people are able to dissociate and bully, belittle, or even threaten others. While a lot of developers have tried to limit the level of toxicity that can happen, there is still no one-size-fits-all solution. A lot of the solutions that are currently in place can be easily worked around. My question is, “How can developers put better systems in place to actually have a welcoming community?”
Luis
You generate some great questions here. Hard to choose! I know that aviation is important to you — perhaps delving into this issue that melds psychology with it will help you in the future? open up new sources? get you thinking about contributing to those sources one day — as a writer and professional?
The issue about Neurolink is really one of ethics — at least as you describe it. I bet there are lots of things that have been written on that score, so if you choose this, try to focus your energies. You will learn a lot — and often, we learn by first getting “lost” in the process.
Toxicity and gaming. Quite a few of my students in my other class are investigating this. It is a popular subject. I have been learning a lot, but not fast enough. I did find an interesting journal that the Library also has access to. See what you think: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/gac