The Quest for Knowledge
Since the beginning of our collective unconscious, humans have attempted to learn and do more. From first exploring our immediate surroundings to now exploring outer space, we have always been naturally curious about what could be out there. However, our fascination with the "unexamined quest for knowledge" has often lead us to unintended consequences. As I read A Measure of Restraint, numerous pop culture examples came to my mind:
1. The Water Planet in Interstellar
I thought of this immediately because the it was the crew's desire to explore this planet (without properly understanding it first) that forced them to face the consequences when they returned to the ship. In this case, they never realized that every 1.25 seconds that they spend on this planet represents an entire day on Earth. It was seriously heartbreaking when they returned to their ship and realize that their crewmate onboard had been waiting for them for twenty years.
2. Ultron from Avengers: Age of Ultron
Of course, Tony Stark's intentions to create another Jarvis-like AI were well-founded. But again, it was the same inherent human desire to do more, to create better things that led to the creation of Ultron. While it is an extreme example (as are all "AI gone rogue" movies), similar scenarios can be found in real life where people become careless, and an experiment goes out of control.
Ultimately, the situations where human error and irresponsibility have done harm simply do not compare to the examples I provided. However, it is interesting how some thousands of movies have continued to explore the same topic. It has been proven time and time again that only one person doing the wrong thing at the wrong time can set off a chain reaction of unfortunate events. Clearly, the fallibility of our psyche is something that makes us what we are: human.
1. The Water Planet in Interstellar
I thought of this immediately because the it was the crew's desire to explore this planet (without properly understanding it first) that forced them to face the consequences when they returned to the ship. In this case, they never realized that every 1.25 seconds that they spend on this planet represents an entire day on Earth. It was seriously heartbreaking when they returned to their ship and realize that their crewmate onboard had been waiting for them for twenty years.
2. Ultron from Avengers: Age of Ultron
Of course, Tony Stark's intentions to create another Jarvis-like AI were well-founded. But again, it was the same inherent human desire to do more, to create better things that led to the creation of Ultron. While it is an extreme example (as are all "AI gone rogue" movies), similar scenarios can be found in real life where people become careless, and an experiment goes out of control.
Ultimately, the situations where human error and irresponsibility have done harm simply do not compare to the examples I provided. However, it is interesting how some thousands of movies have continued to explore the same topic. It has been proven time and time again that only one person doing the wrong thing at the wrong time can set off a chain reaction of unfortunate events. Clearly, the fallibility of our psyche is something that makes us what we are: human.
I like how you related our pop culture of movies to explain your reason regarding "A Measure Of Restraint". I agree with your point that one mistake can change the entire scope of society. Our ability to grow as a whole is to experiment, and that is how we have gotten so far in our existence today. Good Job!
ReplyDeleteAmogh, I love how you incorporated psychology into this blog, as well (collective unconscious-nice)! I completely agree with you, but it seems that no matter how many times that the necessity of restraint is proven, we still continue to explore and make mistakes. Perhaps, we are permanently flawed, or greed's power is simply too much. Again, great post!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your references to pop-culture in your analysis of the piece. When it comes to science, how do you suppose we oversee and restrain those who wish to fly to close to the sun?
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