Friday, March 29, 2013

Critical Thinking Assignment #2 (LIB200)


     I have recently finished a comic series by Vertigo Comics named: "Y: The Last Man". The story follows Yorrick and his monkey (Ampersend) who are the last males for their respected species (Human and Primate) as they are escorted by a government agent assigned with the task of protecting them and a geneticist (who may have something to do with the extinction of all the males), go out to find a cure to this plaque and return males back to the face of the earth. The story seems a bit far fetch'd but I assure you it makes much more sense when you read it all yourself. I recommend giving it a read.

      The comic's take on science comes in the form of Genetics and Cloning. A lot of it revolves mostly around the consequences of taking the role of god and creating things which shouldn't naturally be. The comic pokes at the interference of the natural order of things and what can occur if said order where to be broken (hence the extinction of all males on planet earth). A lot of the science is pretty dumb downed for the readers when it is brought up, however, the comic likes to make use of the more technical terms of the science through dialogue between Allison (The Geneticist) and Yorrick by having Yorrick bewildered by many of Allison's anecdotes and explanations of the occurrences which take place around them and throughout the comic itself.


    The comic leaves me with the fear of affecting the natural world around us and what could possibly happen if it were to be treaded upon for the sake of scientific discovery. I wouldn't necessarily say that what happens in this comic is what would happen if we were to clone another human being but we don't know that until we've tried. I guess it would seem it might be supernatural to think something like in "Y: The Last Man” could occur in reality but there are already many things that have been affected due to human intervention: Global Warming or an article I read about jellyfishes at a harbor outside of Japan rising up out of the ocean and poisoning fishermen catches due to the steady climate changes. Another topic related to all of this was the distinct lack of bees and how they have also slowly been disappearing. I wouldn't call all of this evidence since I don't have the knowledge to back up a lot of it but these claims should suffice to say that there is something going on and we might have some part in it happening. I don't find the advancement of technology and medicine a bad thing but we need to keep in mind how far we can go before we do something we can't possibly foresee. I'm not exactly sure if it’s just over speculation on my part but this is just how I feel about this sort of thing. I wouldn't know if others felt the same way but I do believe they would be capable of seeing it from my point of view. 

     I do believe that science is a disregarded concept now a days compared to days passed and its said to see so little people take interest in it because, regardless of the fear of what might be discovered, it still such a fascinating subject and should be promoted more in schools. However, we see science take a role in media instead of taking a serious and integral part in society. I guess people just want science fiction and not actual occurrences; at least that's how I see it. I don't walk around the school halls hearing people discuss String Theory or the possibility of reviving a Mammoth or the higgs boson, instead I hear about the recent controversy with pop artist and certain shows that played the night before. That's well and understandable but it’s a shame to see people not willing to look towards new ventures they could possibly find might benefit them in some way or might just be really interesting. 

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