Ignorance on the Internet

This week in class, we read a piece by Chet Raymo. It cautioned society that, while science can heal and solve and infinite amount of problems, it also holds the power of destruction. For example, Raymo presents a situation in which Cerium used in cancer treatments was misused by people ignorant to its effects. This situation ended with deaths of many people. I believe the real reason for this situation was that people did not know enough about what they were using. They followed the achievements of society blindly.

In our rapidly technologically advancing world, people often accept advancements that they do not understand. While, neither Raymo nor I believe that people should understand the entirety of technology, we only urge that people do not recklessly use it. One case in which this can happen easily is the internet. A person who understands the web can find information on any topic they wish. It is an infinite trove of information. However, the internet also contains misleading information that, if a person is uneducated about it, is equivalent to following technology blindly. The worst possible situation, though, is when someone believes they know more about something than they actually do. This is shown in Raymo's example of the discoverers of radium. They spent long hours looking at it, and it was eventually used commercially. In the end, one discoverer ended up with cataracts in both her eyes and it also harmed many people who came in contact with it. Again, this is also applicable to the internet. Those who believe they are educated about it will believe unreliable information that they find on the internet. While the ignorance on the internet may not be as harmful as in science, it can be accidentally misused to harm society's knowledge, just as science can harm lives.