Fifth Entry: "Limitations, the necessary Evil"

There is something undoubtedly romantic yet evil about the word "limitation". To scientist it is a source of joy yet heartache, a necessary evil which, tirelessly, needs to be slayed again and again. In fact, like mankind's discovery of fire, a scientific step beyond imaginary red lines which the current field of knowledge and available technologies have drawn could be described as human evolution in its own right, protecting us from the evils of condescension, a right only allowed to the gods. As scientists we fear, as we should, the limitations of our trade because as George Bertrand Shaw said in The Doctor's dilemna, "science becomes dangerous only when it imagines it has reached its goal". 

In facing such danger, we draw on the adrenaline rush and find it even more ecstatic the fact that whatever new added piece of knowledge we so proudly carved in itself constitutes a new limit to be surpassed because accepting the paucity of this newly found knowledge wouldn't be scientific at all. 

We admit and take pride in the fact that the exhilarating aspect of a scientific endeavor is rooted in its ability to push, bend, dent, or even break free of current boundaries; boundaries which stand between us and what lies beyond us because as Bertrand Russel so simply acknowledged in Religion and Science, "what science cannot discover, man cannot know". Knowing we shall, we must, because what are we if not vessels, molders and traders of knowledge. In fact, the single most valuable artifact of human existence would be our ability to continuously breed useful facts and theories about the world we inhabit. As such we need limitations, ones which inspire, challenge, and frustrate the insatiable thinkers in us. Nonetheless, these same limitations constitute a double edged sword; one which has painfully scarred the corners of our hearts. 

Working in any scientifically or technologically driven profession, one has experienced the coldness of its sharp metallic blade. Even more so, walking the halls of a hospital, one can quickly and painfully become aware the most heartbreaking misery about having limitations is our inability to even save ourselves and others. While we are probably many decades away from putting making any remarkable progress towards medically extending our longevity beyond what is now humanly possible, we should break free of what confines us to being bystander watching bodily functions fail. My time here has made me painfully aware of my limits and the limits of medical science. From now on, fully armored, I stand resolute and ready to slay those necessary evils, a tad bit faster, since I for one would like to see with my own eyes days where visits to the hospital shall equal a Disney Land tour.