...about how the brain consolidates memories in sleep, that, it's entirely possible that the brain organizes things in some order of least to most pain/fear. So... by zapping the pleasure center it may have actually turned the rest of the memory into a terrifying hell.
When I saw you and your son at the NY maker faire a couple years ago, your son - I believe he was around 13 at the time - did a demo on how to program a hexacopter to fly autonomously using WA. My son, who is a few years older, figured the kid was heading to Oxford by 15. Just wondering what the lad has been up to.
Like most retail stores, Apple store staff are rewarded for sales, not having not having warranty repairs. When I went there with a similar issue more than 5 years ago: http://gizmodo.com/5061605/apple-confirms-failing-nvidia-graphics-cards-in-macbook-pros-offers-free-repairs-and-refunds I was summarily dismissed by their "genius".
I went from there to an Apple authorized technician who actually tested the computer and confirmed the issue. Over the next couple years the laptop had to be repaired three times until I finally replaced it with a high end ASUS.
Moral of the story... never, ever buy a sexy new Apple product unless you can also afford to also buy the extended warranty.
Who else thinks they should let the surrogate servers expire? Can you imagine the swift response to correct the problem when the government workers find out they can't surf pr0n all day!
Given the vastness of the universe it's hard to believe that earth holds some resource that can't be found anywhere else - plus the size of the earth in relative galactic terms probably wouldn't make much of a beep on the alien overload's metal detector.
And, if aliens do make it here, it's a good bet that we're too dumb and fragile to be used as their slaves.
My bet is that all us humans will simply be shipped off to alien zoos across the universe as curiosities and exotic pets. Those left behind will be part of a larger indigenous exhibit for our touring overlords.
I dunno about you guys, but the idea of a bunch of "scientists" directly messing with the climate scares the hell out of me.
I'm envisioning a climate equivalent of "The Happening" or "I Am Legend".