The University of Chicago 2014-15 Essay Questions: Essay Option 3.

Essay 3.Little pigs, french hens, a family of bears. Blind mice, musketeers, the Fates. Part of an atom, laws of thought, a guideline for composition. Omne trium perfectum? Create your own group of threes, and describe why and how they fit together. 

Two Edged Sword : War, Lethal Accidents, and Radioactive Technology.

     War, lethal accidents, and radioactive technology. These collection of words construct a very ironic meaning unlike what the norm would think. While, there is some truth in that these three factors have contributed greatly in degrading the qualities of human lives, it is also these very factors that have stimulated the most dramatic development in medical studies throughout the history. In other words, every victim related to these three factors has contributed one way or another to set up the foundation that is and will continue to save myriads of human lives.

     When skimming through the heavy biology textbooks we are able to take glimpses of pictures containing human anatomy. When looking at these pictures we are taken aback at how detailed these descriptions are. While some might argue that these were possibly due to the recent development of imaging techniques, these pictures have been existing long before such imaging techniques have even been invented. So what enabled such descriptions? The real reason lies in the inhumane actions that have taken place during times of wars and colonization. The highly detailed drawing of the human anatomy is actual eye to eye, first handily drawn drawings of a dissected organs of captured hostages. A famous example of this is the "Unit 731" associated in the Imperial Japanese Army that undertook lethal human experiments during the Second Sino-Japanese War(1937-1945) and WW2. It is said that they referred the each individual person used in experiments with the term "log." Furthermore it is said that the "Unit 731" undertook bisections with these "logs" ,subjected to various diseases, without anesthesia. Although there is no doubt that these actions are outrageous, inhumane, and should not happen ever again, it is also true that because of these actions we were able to know the exact anatomy of such organs and the effects various diseases have on them. Hard to admit, but these findings have helped us greatly throughout the years.  

Unit 731

     The lethal accidents have also contributed considerable amount in finding each functions of the human body. The basic logic is that when an accident causes a particular part of the victim's body to lose its function, doctors observe and test this victim and try to find a part of him that has become abnormal. Thus conjecturing that the part of harm in the human body is the place that manages the correlates failed function. Through repeated observation doctors are able to conclude what particular function of a particular body part manages. An example of this is the accident of one man(Phineas P. Gage) that worked in a construction site. One day a dynamite was set of at the wrong time and a steel rod penetrated right through the man's skull, just where his frontal lobe was located. Miraculously the man survived from that ordeal and recovered. However, a very distinctive change occurred in his personality. Once a man famous for his kindness and benign nature, this accident changed this personality completely. The man began to demand such selfish requests, expressed his immediate instinctive feelings, and became a very grouchy. Through such observation along with other similar incidences, the researchers were able to conclude that the main function of the frontal lobe was associated with human's solution thinking and consciousness.

Phineas P. Gage

     While the development of radioactivity techniques have brought upon the creation of nuclear bombs and other weapons that have stolen millions of lives, other instruments made from such technology have made a surmountable development in the field of medical research. Such example is the use of X-rays and such machines called PET. Basically, these machines use the property of radioactivity rays that they have short wavelengths and large energy that able them to pass through the human body. On the other side of the origin of these waves there are receptors that receive these waves and through complex algorithms, computing the texture and state of the penetrated body, displays a digital picture on the computer screen. This rather simple technique has enabled the doctors to become aware of such diseases or injuries without the need of surgery, and a higher accuracy in the overall diagnosis of a patient.

X-rays

     There is a saying that with brighter light there comes a darker shadow. Such is the way of these three terms ; War, lethal accidents, and radioactive technology. It is a fact that these factors have  once brought upon undesired results to the rest of the world, however it is also a fact that they have contributed in saving millions of potential and present lives. Nothing is ever perfect. Such is true with our lives. While some aspect of an objects or experiences might be beneficial, there are bound to be some unforeseen aspect about that factors that are causing more harm than good. Therefore it all comes down to the user, us, who are capable of manipulating these subjects or objects. To diminish the harms as much as possible and at the same time amplifying the benefits.