Student 25

Object 1: Screenshot of cancer funding

My item is a screenshot of a cancer funding campaign made by a Youtuber who was diagnosed with cancer. Personally, it impacted me a lot as this Youtuber was someone I enjoyed watching, and the thought of him suffering and dealing with such hardship was both concerning and worrying. But this also made me aware of how underfunded some cancers are, yet many people die or suffer because of cancer.

Research requires a lot of money for equipment, labor, and general information, so the constraint of money is always present. Without enough money, not enough research can be conducted, and therefore the pursuit of knowledge for cancer is limited. For example, pancreatic cancer is severely underfunded, especially when considering how it is highly deadly. That doesn’t mean other cancers aren’t funded well, but many are underfunded in comparison to its mortality rate. Many cancers have yet to have a cure for late stages, where survival rate drastically declines. Much of funding is supported by non-profit organizations, who can only supply so much. This restriction on funding for cancers allows researchers and scientists to have less work room for studying and developing possible cures or treatments, and therefore limit the pursuit of knowledge to support those who were diagnosed with such cancers.

Money isn’t the only important factor of pursuing knowledge for cancer-related information, but it certainly is one of the most important, as it allows researchers to access various equipment and reach out for help from other institutions. This lack of funding severely limits how much scientists can study and produce, which then ultimately impacts the rest of society - especially those who have cancer and their loved ones.

Object 2: Screenshot of a summary of Project MKUltra

My item is a summary of Project MKUltra, a CIA experimentation program for mind control. It was created during the Cold War, when U.S. citizens were terrified of the idea that communist spies were among them. I’ve joined Psychology IB, and ever since then, I’ve been interested in studies where ethical considerations were broken, and the impact it had on its participants, and how society reacted.

Certainly, knowledge should be pursued, but many constraints have been applied, especially when it comes to experimentation on live, conscious beings. In this case, Project MKUltra was forcibly shut down by Congress, as it subjected both willing and unwilling participants to a plethora of unethical tests, which consists of but are not limited to: drugs, hypnosis, isolation, and abuse. In the case of the unwilling participants, many were being treated at hospitals and had no idea they were being tested on, even when hallucinations began kicking in. Although many discoveries were made - although none of which they were looking for - because it was so dangerous to humans, it was closed. It is true that continued experimentation and research would result in more knowledge, but it was illegal and a violation of human rights. Ethical considerations are important and are always applied to experiments, though some may get through due to a lack of information towards either the participants or the board certifying these experiments.

Without these ethical constraints on psychological experiments, it would be possible for any group of researchers to conduct harmful experiments without their subjects knowing, or without clear consent. Not only would this bring harm towards the general public, but could also lead the populace into chaos and suspicion of government or science. This can easily be seen in North Korea, where the government is allowed to perform all sorts of experiments that can easily kill or torture their subject. Personally, this is why I am invested in the idea of ethical considerations, as it protects not only myself, but also those I love.

Object 3: My stove

This item is my stove I have inside my home. I’ve become accustomed to using it for cooking, especially whenever my parents aren’t home and I need to make my own food. Because it is a gas stove, rather than an electric stove, it is much more dangerous in the sense it is an open fire, than a hot surface. Not only that but gas leaks are another danger, and the smell of gas is still emitted if a burner doesn’t turn on immediately.

This shows a constraint on the pursuit of knowledge, as the stove was also the source of my fear for a long while. I was afraid of fire and the thought of hurting myself or causing irreversible damage to the house, so I avoided the stove for a good portion of my life. Fear is a constraint of knowledge, whether that be the fear of death or the fear of what could happen, such as how I feared what could happen if I used the stove incorrectly, or accidentally splashed oil into the fire. But this fear is what kept me from pursuing the knowledge of cooking, therefore making me constantly rely on either my brother or my parents for food. By any means, this was not something I necessarily needed to know at the time, but it was important that I found a way to get around my fear, as in the future I would need to be much more self-sufficient.

My stove, as a cause of fear, is what prevented me from learning how to cook at an early age, and too prevented me from the knowledge of how fun it is to cook and create food. Thankfully today I have gotten past that restriction, but this idea could be applied to many other fears that cause the hesitation for acquisition of knowledge.