Stagnation

    In Chet Raymo's piece, "A Measure of Restraint," he depicts truly how dangerous progress can be. Using the example Marie Curie's discovery of Radium, he illustrates the detrimental effects of scientific inquiry. The discovery of Radium opened up a whole new world in chemistry both good and bad. With radiation, we can now treat cancer but radiation is so dangerous that we could kill also kill ourselves. Adrienne Rich eloquently described Marie Curie's death by radiation as the result of wounds which "came from the same source as her power." Raymo's tone remains caution throughout and with his thesis, "The unexamined quest for knowledge is hemmed with peril," advises his audience to remain vigilant while on its quest for knowledge. However, some people let themselves be paralyzed by the fear of progress. While Raymo describes the "immortal" long-term effects of transgenic research, we must also think about what we could accomplish. The bio-luminescent gene that was transplanted into a tobacco plant could potentially be used to identify and target cancer, the second leading cause of death in the U.S. By carefully continuing to research this field we could conquer many diseases. Furthermore, it is imperative that we continue to progress because staying stagnant is much worse than the side effects of progress. In G.B.B.E., we learned about the Red Queen Hypothesis which states that we must evolve in order to survive. At first it seemed quite strange, but as we evolve everything else does as well. In order to maintain our position at the top of the food change, humans must continue to advance. Looking at the picture below, the Red Queen must continue to run faster and faster or "evolve" in order to stay in the same position. In order to survive, we must develop new vaccines to kill mutating viruses. In order to survive, we must tame the harsh, variable environments around us. While the risk of progress is great, the risk of stagnation is much greater.