Weekly Forum Discussion Questions
Remember that these incidents happened nearly 30 years ago before the World Wide Web and the instant communication society we live in today. The Therac-25 case often leads one to believe that reuse of code is a bad thing, that businesses are evil and only care about making money, and that technology kills people. The truth is that the reuse of code is necessary for advancements. Businesses have not only a right to make money but an obligation to make money to support their employees and investors. While technology can kill people (intentionally or unintentionally) it has also saved millions, if not billions of lives.
Where do you think the medical industry would be today if machines like the Therac-25 were discontinued because of these types of problems? Where would the transportation industry be, including air, ground and sea transportation, if computers were not used because of the early problems? Can you think of other industries that initially had problems implementing technological advancements? How did they overcome the initial setbacks? What improvements have these industries experienced due to technology?
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