Our culture’s passion for fantasy sometimes trumps reality’s demand for propriety.
Today’s case in point all began with this tweet:
A robot has killed a worker in a VW plant in Germany http://t.co/RRdCnNmbsj
— Sarah O'Connor (@sarahoconnor_) July 1, 2015
Aside from being a writer for The Financial Times, O’Connor’s not a celebrity or anyone particularly famous or anything. Until now.
The fact that a woman named Sarah O’Connor (perfect if not for the Irish prefix “O”) tweeted news about a robot killing a person in a Volkswagon factory did not escape the notice of Twitter, and all of geekdom shared a collective fangasm despite the fact that a poor guy just got killed. And O’Connor got new followers galore.
You can check out the public’s reaction on the thread for O’Connor’s tweet, but O’Connor’s own responses are sometimes more amusing even as they gently remind everyone that a person has just died:
@sarahoconnor_ Guys. I don't know what skynet is. And I wouldn't follow me – I tweet really boring stuff about unit wage costs and the like.
— Sarah O'Connor (@sarahoconnor_) July 1, 2015
@JamesBusher Ugh, this is a bit uncomfortable. A person has actually died.
— Sarah O'Connor (@sarahoconnor_) July 1, 2015
But still geeks can’t help themselves:
.@sarahoconnor_ @JamesBusher And many more will die if you don't get to Miles Bennett Dyson.
— Kuato (@PhillipCMcGuire) July 1, 2015
*Face palm*. Sometimes we think Skynet should just have its way.