Bad Science

This week we read "A Measure of Restraint" by Chet Raymo. He talks about how science can be successful and beneficial to society. However, it must must be practiced with caution and regulation as science can be very destructive. He used examples like Radium, Cesium, and possibly gene splicing to illustrate the negative consequences of scientific discovery. In my opinion, science is great. I agreee with Raymo that innovation is beneficial to society but must be done with caution. Another example of science gone wrong is the creation of ecstasy. Originally, German chemist Anton Köllisch created the drug as a by-product for a drug that helped stop abnormal bleeding in 1913. It was largely ignored for about 50 years until its recreational use became popular and is still a very popular, yet dangerous drug today. Science is constantly changing the way we live. Oftentimes it benefits society like the creation of the personal computer or the influenza vaccine but it can also cause great damage to society like the accidental creation of ecstasy. Even though it is believed that we, as humans, have come a long way from where we began in terms of technological innovation and it is believed that something like the common consumption of radium could never happen because smarter than that, I believe that science is more powerful than ever and any mistake or accident that happens now could permanently damage humanity.