By All Means, PROCEED With Caution

Pandora Sitting on the Box

After reading Chet Raymo's "A Measure of Restraint," I was reminded of the Greek mythology book my dad bought for me when I was eleven. What immediately came to mind was the image of my younger self snug underneath the covers and pretending to be asleep, clutching my book and flashlight while my eyes flew rapidly across the page. I enjoyed all of the stories, but there was a particular one that made quite an impression on me: Pandora's Box. It was essentially the age old saying "curiosity killed the cat," except the cat was a young woman, and curiosity didn't kill her but instead condemned all of mankind to be plagued by the seven deadly sins. So, little Miss Pandora was a little too eager in finding out the box's contents and ignored all of the warnings - "Do NOT open the box!" - which ended badly for basically everyone else. I understand Raymo wants to warn others and save them from falling into the same trap as Pandora did, but I can't help but wonder about the scientists who do know the risks and still choose to pursue their research in the name of science. Take the Wright Brothers, for example. I'm positive they knew of the risks that came with the creation of airplanes i.e. you fall out of the sky and die. Yet they were willing to take that risk. Though some may argue that the planes were "detrimental to society and became instruments of warfare," ultimately they were of huge benefit and greatly enhanced our mobility. Even though there may be dangers lurking on our quest for knowledge, sometimes we need to take risks in order to advance civilization. If our ancestors hadn't play with fire, we would still be shivering in the caves right now.

Yes, there is a fine line between being Pandora opening the box and Benjamin Franklin flying his kite during a thunderstorm, but take Raymo's warning with "a measure of restraint." Limits are set to prevent us from abusing power, not to bind us from moving forward.