Turning an Innovation to Cruelty

“Is science of any value?” asked Richard Feynman, receiver of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 for his extensive work in the Manhattan project as well as being part of the crew that dropped the atomic bomb over Nagasaki. Feynman wrote a book entitled The Meaning of It All on his thoughts of a scientist while at the same time living in the society he had created. He answers his question by saying “I think a power to do something is of value. Whether the result is a good thing or bad thing depends on how it is used, but the power is a value.” He later elaborates claiming “To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven. The same key opens the gates of hell" (Feynman 4). Feynman and his response to his work in the Manhattan project illustrate how we can use a discovery for the better good of the society, making it an innovation. Also at the same time, the same idea can be used as harm, creating a sin. The moment we as a society choose to stunt a discovery, and decide to use it for the better good, or to use the dark side of the discovery for its power would be challenged by the value the new discover displays as of a result. Sadly however, we as a society tend to lean towards the path of power. Such is illustrated in William Golding’s allegorical novel Lord of the Flies. Golding portrays how society will stunt the further growth of a discovery once used for the progression of society, because of civilizations destructive nature symbolically by the use of the fire and its uses thorough the novel. The fire will start by becoming a bright idea and have a safe usage, but as greed and urge for power progresses, its use is abused for the only use of the savages within the kids on the island. Such relates to the Unites States progre...

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...savagery takes over any form of civil life using the fire abusively for its savage uses, and destroying everything it was once used for, with total chaos, and just leaves it like that without being healed from such an incident. Relating to the industrialism to imperialism example, once something is lost, it cannot be gained back again the same it once was before, in other words, once the fire burns something, its burned, and can’t be changed. Golding believes it is all because of a chain of events that lead to the end where terror lies. It has a climax, at that point is where we choose, use this for good, or use it for bad. Golding argues in Feynman’s analogy saying that we as a society tend to choose the key to hell. It is very rare that we choose and stick with the key to heaven, because in the end, it will become corrupt, and end up evolving into the key to hell.