Science fiction asks the question, “What if?”
For thought-provoking articles and snippets, one of my favourite websites is io9 We Come from the Future. The human capacity for rationalizing self-serving behaviour, even when it profoundly hurts others, is highlighted by this disturbing modern psychology experiment: An experiment showed that hospital staff were ready to kill patients. The study also underlines the dangers of mindless compliance with authority. Scary commentary and excellent fodder for fiction.