Mosaic 2 - Reading
Page 214
3. If Dr. Francis Collins is right, screening tests will soon enable people to judge their tolerance for cigarettes or cheeseburgers. This will be 100 percent a good thing. Yes or no?
In my opinion, these tests is apparently good as it gives us more information about our health. In any case, more information is always better than lacking. For most smokers and cheeseburger eaters, the test will help them realize that they are taken deeply down under their tolerance to stop it in time. In a bit optimistic, the success of screening tests on cigarette and cheeseburger will create a trend which entails many tests on more fields such as gauging body's tolerance for heat, cold, starvation, etc. or so far as poison, earthquake, tsunami, etc. Why don't we think about this side. We might have heard a lot about some persons who survived amazingly from disaster. What is the factor that makes those ones stand out but not their genes. It is really so soon to talk about the result right now, but I guess it must be interesting. It will let us know more about ourselves, discover our abilities, our strength and weakness or even help us choose career to work, place to live, etc.
However, we should consider carefully about bad effects of these tests. For many people, knowing too much about themselves is not always good, especially their tolerance. By these tests, they can realize that their body can stand more than their current dose (for cigarette or cheeseburger) and decide taking more even though they are more or less harmful. One more thing we should consider is that tests result will expose people's weakness which may be taken advantage by crime.