?The Consequences of Being Smart
The good and bad sides of intellect and knowledge have baffled people for centuries. From the beginning of time, man has struggled to draw the line between knowledge and science, and religion, and have fought countless battles over it. However, this is no one-sided matter. The benefits and consequences of intelligence and knowledge are determined only by how it is being used. In the novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, this conflict of interests tore and shook Dr. Frankenstein’s life to its very foundations. Dr. Frankenstein creates the creature in the hopes of helping mankind, but because of his intelligence he becomes overconfident, ending in his creating the very being that was to destroy
Such actions do require a certain amount of intellect. The Greeks, using their vast knowledge, defeated the Trojans in the Trojan War, but at terrible prices. Achilles, his confidence stemming from his mother’s protection, used his invincibility to kill and slaughter tons of Trojan warriors, and his greed and bloodlust set him on the path for destruction. Even today, the use of knowledge directs the fates of many. The use of cloning and stem cell technology could save millions from terrible disabling injuries and diseases, allowing them to reclaim their lives. Vital organs could be reproduced to replace ones lost in tragic accidents and/or war. Children born with life-ruining mutations could be saved. A loved one that died could be reborn through cloning technology, to the utter delight of the mourning family. However, for every one miracle that works, there may be millions more that don’t work, and end up in tragedy. What would become of these failures once they become alive, not dead? Instead of broken machine parts, we have broken children? What would those mourning families do, if they end up with a terrible failure of life to take care of? It would be an extremely depressing reminder of a life that once was. Things that could before be simply thrown into the dump now need care, and food, and shelter, just as a normal person does. Failures and trash are no longer able to be simply ignored once they can breathe, can