Naivete

People are often easily influenced. When a person has little opinion or knowledge about a topic, of which there are many that the public is clueless of, his or her view can be easily swayed by an argument that seems legitimate. Who are we to question this expert doing that research in whatever town? This naivete can become dangerous and, especially in untested fields of research or science, ultimately detrimental. This aspect of gullibility is partly examined in Chet Raymo's "A Measure of Restraint", where Raymo warns about the dangers in advancing technology and more importantly the danger in blindly following it.

In one story, Raymo explains the tale of two men who found a stainless steel cylinder in an abandoned radiation clinic. There was some "seemingly magical material" inside of it, and the men didn't think twice before distributing it to their family and friends. The canister itself came from a cancer treatment machine - an "instrument of healing". However, they did not know that the "lovely light" emitted was actually from the decay of Cesium-137. Thus, this innocent gesture unwittingly led to the death or serious ailments of those who had been contaminated by the substance. From this, Raymo makes a transition into current times and genetic engineering, with the unforeseen dangers that it may present to us. This remarks on how society still believes most of what is presented to it without a second thought. Until we stop devouring information without hesitation or question, we will continue to be swallowed by our naivete.