Only Time Will Tell

In “A Measure of Restraint," Chet Raymo expresses concern over the advancement of technological innovations and discoveries. While I do believe that scientific discovery is an essential component of human life, it is equally essential for humans to remain cautious of the possible repercussions. Only time will tell, the cliche says. However, if we hold ourselves to this cliche, it will be too late to stop the wave of genetic engineering before it grows like a cancer cell. We will succumb to the "fruitful promise of genetic engineering." As a result, it is important that we make ourselves of aware of the problems in seeking scientific discoveries. 

Raymo's thesis illustrates his skepticism towards human’s thirst for scientific discovery. He supports this through anecdotes of scientists like Marie and Pierre Curie who found new discoveries that seemed beneficial at first, but resulted in fatal consequences as a result of ignorant and carefree use of the innovations. What the world did not know was that this powerful blessing was actually a hazardous curse in disguise. Due to this overly optimistic faith in the "perfect element", people faced the severe effects of these innovations. Indeed, our new breakthroughs in medicine and genetic engineering have weaved themselves into human life globally. For example, we use medicine daily to treat our infections and diseases; without it, those with health problems would be left to die. Furthermore, we use genetic engineering in our foods to supply a greater amount of food. If we erased our innovations from the world, not only would the world be undoubtedly inconvenient, but also our world would be dumbfounded in the loss of our way of life. Our reliance on these discoveries demonstrates how the human species continue to evolve at a direct proportionality to scientific innovations. 

Nevertheless, what if our discoveries have a hidden flaw that we are unaware of? What if it results in a "Frankensteinian quality" that cannot be controlled? Its consequences would multiply at our demise, and we would be left in mercy to the unconquerable consequences. Let us not wait for time to tell us. Rather, let us make the first move in stabilizing this uncertain world of genetic engineering.