The Downsides to the Upsides

“A Measure of Restraint” measures mankind’s ignorance of the dangers hidden behind a veil of alluring objects and satisfying results. They used cesium-137 as an example. On the outside, it looks like fairy dust, with its “mysterious blue light”. But little did the men know, its intensely radioactive material will soon be the downfall of their community. Maybe the men were tricked into believing that this substance was harmless. After all, it was retrieved from a cancer therapy machine. This irony highlights that nothing is without consequence.

I remember browsing through YouTube, watching old advertisements from the 20^th century and coming across beauty commercials that claimed that their secret ingredient – radioactive materials such as radium and thorium-chloride – would wash away makeup and leave the skin glowing with radiance. They even put a Geiger counter next to it and it read radioactive activity. This horrified me and I was thinking, does nobody realize that this is harmful? I guess when I was growing up, all I would be exposed to is how radioactive stuff is a stuff of nightmares. I remember cartoons or stories that had characters accidentally slipped into a conveniently placed can of radioactive liquid and then out emerged a disfigured mutation.

This second part of the article reminded me of what I am currently learning in Environmental. Genetically modified plants are a breakthrough in solving crop production with new solutions to pest invasions and other problems originally faced by regular crops. But with this new era of crop production beginning, there is a negative side. The controversy surrounding this method questions is this safe long-term? Will it affect us years down the road? Long-term studies haven’t been tested so we really are unsure of the dangers that may appear in the future.

Also, this can honestly be applied to me. I take naps in the afternoon quite frequently, but the problem is that I can’t wake up unless three or more hours have passed. Alarms do not phase my napping and I wake up later to find that they are already turned off. So the nap is very alluring, and every time I hit the pillows, I tell myself, I’m going to wake up within two hours. That is my ignorance- to not heed my previous experiences and thus ignore the possible consequences of my nap.