Progress With A Price

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The advancement of science is a double-edged sword such that while it has made life easy, it has also complicated our existence and put humans more at risk.

In ancient times, humans were known to perform tasks and activities crudely. From using humans and animals as a means of transportation to also using them for manual labor in production processes.

Just this morning I was telling my mom how the end of the slave trade was due to the Industrial Revolution.

Basically, thanks to science, developed economies were able to advance technologically, and as such, they introduced these advanced technologies in the form of machines to their economic activities. These saw the end of human labor as the machines were seen to be more efficient in production.

Moreover, the technological advancement also saw the drastic decline in the use of animals for mobility. Instead of horses and donkeys, we now have vehicles.

Again, in communication, we went from the post office to phones and computers. While letters used to take weeks and sometimes months to get delivered, we now stay in the comfort of our homes and communicate with individuals all over the world in seconds, with just a few clicks.

Indeed, science has been great; it literally lights up our world, introducing us to electricity and every other gadget that has made life worthwhile. Quite unfortunately, it’s not always rosy, nor has it always been good, as with each scientific discovery plus technological advancement comes a price that humanity has to pay.

There is the price of increased casualties during war, as it has now transformed from the use of bows and arrows, guns, swords, etc., to drones, fighter jets, and nuclear weapons.

There’s also the price of people playing God and altering their bodies. Most painfully, the lives of our future generations are in grave danger as people now use science as a life hack to beat the biological clock.

It’s almost like scientific procedures are being manipulated to cater to individual selfish desire at the expense of the whole. Usually, the consequences of individual actions always find a way to trickle down to the society.

Recently, there was a trend on Facebook where some women from my country who happen to be in their late 20s and above were advising younger women to freeze their eggs. The reason for this advice was so that they stand a higher chance of procreation later in life when they stop producing healthy eggs.

While the advice and procedure could be seen positively as negating procreation problems in women later in life, I’m more worried about the health conditions of individuals birthed from such procedures.

I couldn’t help but ponder questions like, would such individuals have lower life expectancy as a result of low resistance levels to diseases and life pressures? Certainly, we’ve come far enough to realize that science always comes with a price.

So, to satisfy my curiosity, I went on to read about the egg-freezing process, and honestly, it’s not something that people should casually throw advice on because if not properly handled, the health of the woman involved could be at risk.

I really do wish that science could just stick to machines for work efficiency. I also wish that science didn’t have to genetically modify our food because right now I’m very wary of what goes in my mouth, as we are what we eat.

It’s just sad that we can no longer enjoy food in its natural form like in the good old days, as not even the seeds are spared from the manipulation of science.

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