Somebody always has to fuck it up for the rest of us, don't they?

Think about it. Nobel invents a useful construction tool like dynamite, next thing you know its being used as a weapon. The Wright Brothers invent airplanes, and then you get 9/11. Gutenberg invents the printing press, and then Stephanie Meyer writes Twilight. The point is, every useful invention can be turned against us for horrible purposes.

Now the internet is coming for us.

This 60 Minutes piece from last Sunday, "Sabotaging the System," shows how hackers could break into the electric grid and send it fake information that would order it to tear itself apart. For the money shot, skip ahead to the 15:30 mark, and watch an IC engine do its Lindsey Lohan impression and self-destruct:

This kind of attack is possible because of the centralized nature of our power grid. The smart grid enables decentralization on a scale that would not be feasible today. Say what you want about solar panels, but it would be pretty difficult to get them to explode the way this engine does - not to mention the fact that instead of blowing up one engine, you'd have to attack thousands of units.

If fear mongering politicians were interested in doing something other than appearing tough on brown people in order to rack up votes or lining the pockets of defense contractors in their congressional district, this might be the type of thing they talk about. Just sayin'.