- Published: September 12, 2022
- Updated: September 12, 2022
- University / College: University of East Anglia (UEA)
- Language: English
- Downloads: 25
The world has been subject to the benefits and detriments of many inventions. Nearly all inventions have been said to be “ evil” or “ unnecessary”, but do these assessments apply to the invention itself, or it’s possibly irresponsible use by those who have obtained it? It seems to me that anything, from nuclear power to a standard television set can be used in both a responsible and irresponsible manner. Science and technology both have made exponential leaps in the recent past, most of which have improved the standard of living in our country and have even spread to influence our culture and communities. But as some of these inventions ran their course, we warped their original purpose to satisfy our desires of the moment. I do not believe that any inventions are inherently bad; but the manner in which we apply them to a given situation can make them appear good or evil. The most obvious invention that has been misused by our world is nuclear power. This process of splitting an atom is called fission.
When we first split an atom in 1932, amazing new possibilities were opened to the world. Instantly we have a clean and cheap way to harvest energy, an efficient way to power everything from nuclear subs, to the lights in our own homes. In addition to using this power in nuclear reactors, thousands of high-tech and low-tech jobs have been created. Jobs that have helped the world’s unemployment rate decrease. Also, nuclear fission and fusion has helped many countries with power resources. The power harnessed has helped economies develop that otherwise would remain in a state of crippling inefficiency and starvation. It is not a coincidence that four of the five countries that have the most nuclear reactors in the world, have the strongest economies on the planet. But as good as something can seem, inventions can have many uses.
One of the uses of nuclear power, are nuclear bombs. After the discovery of fission in 1932, we created the nuclear bomb. Now all of a sudden we found a way to kill more people than every before at one time. The invention of the Nuclear Bomb caused the death of 220, 000 people in Japan and was also part of the cause of the cold war. As the years have passed, the cost of making these nuclear devices have decreased. It has also become increasingly easier to acquire the necessary parts to create a bomb.
Along with the price decrease, so has the size. Now people can sneak bombs into suit cases, books, and TV’s. And as time goes on, the hindrances in making bombs will become less. Eventually, if not already, making homemade bombs in other countries will become commonplace. This is the world we have created. The inventions that we have created have no axiomatic polar associations, they are given these by man’s will to apply personalities to inanimate facets of his accomplishments. No invention inherently possesses negativity, and no invention has a tendency towards charity and responsibility.
But once something is invented, used, and expanded, we apply our own opinions and extrapolate our own personalities onto them. Without the presence of our own evil, our own urge to cause pain and destruction, nothing we can create can cause damage. Man’s capacity to imagine does not exceed his ability, his ability is given power by his imagination.