The quest for progress has never stopped. Human's thirst for scientific discovery and invention will never be quenched. Throughout the years, we have seen the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison's invention of the incandescent lamp, and Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin.
With scientific progress moving at such a rapid speed nowadays, with multi-purpose cell phones readily available, the question is, is it justifiable as a good form of progress? I will base my analysis on the study of the flight recorder, the Internet and the medical industry.The idea of the flight recorder, more popularly known as the black box, was first conceived by David Warren. It was an idea that is a progress for the good of the safety of the people. He envisioned the idea of recording the flight crew's conversation on an airplane, which will aid the investigation of airline disasters.
First invented in 1953, it was in production by 1957, and has now become an essential part of all aircrafts. This invention is a significant progress for mankind. Prior to this, there was no way of determining the cause of airplane catastrophes.With the black box, there is a significant probability of resolving the circulating speculations.
When cases attribute the tragedy to a fault of the airplane, following rectifications will save more lives in future. This is especially significant as globalization of the world has resulted in increasing numbers of politicians, businessman and tourists requiring air travel. The only hope of resolving the recent Air France plane disaster, killing all 228 on board, is none other than the black box. One of the most important advancement in technology is the Internet.The Internet is an invention that provided huge convenience and quick updates. For centuries, humans have communicated mainly through written letters, which takes days to reach the intended party, and the telephone.
For centuries, humans relied on newspapers, followed by the radio and the television. From now, the Internet has taken over the mantle to become the most multi-purpose and boundless invention mankind has seen. For communication, the Internet offers emailing and instant online messaging services as well as social networking sites.For information, at the click of the mouse, we can view all the latest updates and news.
Everything has become fast and convenient! However, such a boundless innovation is bound to have drawbacks. Internet hacking and scams are powerful risks to mankind. Hacking can potentially result in billions of financial losses for large corporations, while scams target the bourgeoisie. Despite such drawbacks, the Internet is undeniably a magical platform where more innovations can come in.
It is the catalyst of the successful Obama presidential campaign, and a stunningly effective avenue when it comes to online campaign donations. As long as all of us remain vigilant, and build up strong security systems, flames can be doused and the potential of the Internet can continue to be exploited. The progress of the medical industry has reaped dividends. Due to these discoveries, many lives have been saved. For example, the discovery of penicillin as a form of antibiotics was an important step that paved the way for more antibiotics.
Antibiotics allowed patients down with a cold to recover better. The creation of a kidney dialysis machine enabled diabetes patients a chance to survive. The contribution to mankind is undeniable. However, another medical development is plastic surgery. There have been critics of plastic surgery, who denounce it as being disrespectful to Mother Nature.
However, plastic surgery remains useful to a select group of unfortunate people, with experiences whereby an accident had disfigured the person's face. A serious car accident could have led to such a distortion of the face.The sight may be unsettling, and plastic surgery will serve good to refine the person's life, and reduce the likelihood of being mocked by insensitive street users. Thus, the rapid medical development had reaped huge dividends. In conclusion, scientific progress has mostly been for the good of mankind.
Flight recorders have the ability for us to resolve mysteries and crack down on faulty airplanes. The Internet has expanded our society into a high-paced and efficient one, with convenience for Internet users a feature as well.Medical developments have saved many lives which would previously have been impossible to save, and possibly gave renewed hope to some. There will always be drawbacks such as internet hacking, as well as the possibly unethical attempt to change what Mother Nature gave us.
There will always be similar cases of abusing the right to scientific progress, but we can be thankful that for most of the time, rapid scientific evolution has brought us what many people in the past couldn't even dream of.
