In his passage from The Great Influenza, John M. Barry uses a few techniques to convey his point to his readers. Barry starts off with the repitition of the words "Certainty" and "Uncertainty", then moves on to compare being a scientist to being in the wilderness. Barry uses words and phrases that make the reader see exactly what he is talking about.
"Certainty creates strength" is the first ssentence in Barry's passage. I believe he places this here to make the readers think about what this word truly means. Barry makes the readers of his passage think for themselves and then explains what Uncertainty means and how scientists have to be smart, creative, willing, patient, passionate, and self-sufficient.
Another way Barry conveys his point about how scientists work is by comparing them to those who explore the frontier. They are the ones that make the guesses about what will work and what won't. Scientists are the ones who truly kn ow nothing about what they're doing, that's why they do it. Barry proves his point to the reader by saying that, "In the wilderness the scientist must create... everything." Barry almost makes scientists sound like they are like Batman or Superman.
Most of our lives rely on the success of science, but sometimes science can fail. Like Claude Bernard said, "Science teaches us to doubt," and sometimes we may doubt it too much. We need to have faith in our "Frontier Explorers" and believe that what they are saying is true.
Barry uses a couple strategies to prove his point about scientists to the reader. He starts by explaining a few words that get the reader to think and contemplate and then compares scientists to frontier explorers and also uses a quote from a great French physiologist of the nineteenth century. |