Tome of Wisdom

“Keep your ideas flexible, and don’t ignore details.”

Asides

What does love mean?

The story goes that a group of professionals asked children between the ages of 4 and 8 “What does love mean?” Their answers have circulated via e-mail and the Internet. Many versions exist; perhaps some have been added or omitted, or perhaps the story was not true to begin with. Whatever the case, the answers are heartwarming.

I have often puzzled over the question “What is love?” Everybody seems to have their own idea of what “love” is. A definition for love eludes me, because most discussion about love is descriptive (like writing a poem describing a flower), rather than definitive and compact (like a dictionary definition or a mathematical equation).

People get into relationships because they think they are “in love,” and break up because they think they are no longer “in love.” But what if two people really love each other, but they have wrong or confused ideas about what love is? What if society has taught them that “love” means one thing, when really it means something much different? I believe this happens a lot, and is the cause of much suffering. If only people had the proper perspective on what love really means, they wouldn’t cause each other so much grief.

I don’t have a definition for love. I don’t even know if it’s possible to define love. All I know is that love means unquestioning acceptance of the other person, unquestioning dedication to their happiness, and trust beyond trust. Without these things, love cannot thrive.

love

The DNA so dangerous it does not exist

Researchers are looking for DNA that is not present in any existing lifeforms. Such DNA sequences do not exist presumably because they are incompatible with life. Any organism that has this DNA will die and thus be selected against. Greg Hampikian, professor of genetics at Boise State University in Idaho, is leading the project. Did he at any point stop and think about how scary this project sounds? Didn’t it occur to him that the project screams “we are mad scientists looking for the ultimate biological weapon?”

From a purely academic standpoint, it is interesting to ask such questions as “What is the fastest way to kill a human?” or “What is the best way to dispose of a body?” Such questions were, in fact, of great importance for the Nazis when they were putting the Final Solution into practice.

From a human standpoint, however, some questions are better left unanswered. Scientists have a moral responsibility to ensure that their research is used only for the good of mankind. In practice, once a scientist’s results reach the wider world, this moral imperative is out its discoverer’s hands. Most scientific discoveries can be used for either good or evil, and it is difficult to predict the applications a discovery will lead to. The moral imperative thus passes onto those who use the discoveries.

Can anything good come out of a search for DNA that is incompatible with life? Certainly, there are harmless applications such as genetic tagging with harmless DNA. Hampikian, however, mentions the possibility of a “suicide gene.” Given that his research is funded by the US Department of Defense, some people clearly believe that this research has military applications. We seem to be on the road to a new arms race based on genetic rather than atomic or biochemical weapons.

ethics, genetic engineering, science