There was some cyberpunk novel I read some years back involving a character who had the phrase “poor impulse control” tattooed on his forehead, as a warning to people who encountered him. This strikes me as a great idea, but there would be serious problems with trying to impose such a thing as a penalty through the court system.
However, this is the sort of thing where, with a little nudge from the government, the free market could take care of it:
Subsidize facial tattoos which read “POOR IMPULSE CONTROL”. Subsidize them to the point where, in fact, they are absolutely free to the recipient.
Problem solved.
Comments [archived]
From: christian
Date: 2010-12-10 09:27:10 -0600
Until the become some sort of fashion statement and loose all their meaning.
(The novel was ‘Snow Crash’ by Neil Stephenson, by the way.)
From: Dave in Tucson
Date: 2010-12-10 11:41:09 -0600
The character with the “Poor Impulse Control” is in Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash.
From: Emily
Date: 2010-12-12 00:46:12 -0600
Hi Peter! I have read several articles that you have written and I have been trying to send you an email, the only email I have found no long exists. I am working on a project and need someone a great deal smarter than me to help me understand some of the details. If you would, can you send me an email so I can ask you the questions?
Thank you!
Emily
From: uyuy
Date: 2011-01-26 09:25:30 -0600
We already have tattoos like this.
They’re called tattoos.
From: thisismydecoy
Date: 2011-05-24 16:06:00 -0500
Don’t be bashing people with tattoos… That’s judging a book by it’s cover (I got here by way of the Rift forums, I also have a rather large tattoo on the back of my head)…