Friday, April 13, 2012

For Love or for Money?

Science is very much incorporated in our society today. Many things and careers are established, thanks to science. Our world is slowly, but surely, becoming very dependent on it.

In Oryx and Crake, since it is perceived as the future, the only jobs that will get you far and will financially aid you are the one's that involve science. This book, in a way, foreshadows our future on Earth. Soon, having a job that you love, such as being an artist or even a writer, will eventually get you nowhere. Or at least that was our society makes it as. It is not enough to just do what you love anymore, it has to have an impact in our world in a big way, and the only careers today that allow you to do that are the one's that have to do with science, such as being a doctor, or a successful scientist. This book demonstrates to what extents people will go to just to be financially well-off, even if the job requires you to be utterly unethical and cruel. For example, in Oryx and Crake, Jimmy's father has a job that drains people of all their money and integrity. This is what will happen to our future. Soon enough, everyone will be so intrigued by companies that do this, just because as a whole they bring in a lot of income. We will be brainwashed by all of these big incorporations, and even pretend to be astonished by their findings. They will allow us to have this mentality like "Oh, they say that's the right thing to do and the right path to take, so I will obey and do the same," as if they've taken hold of our society's concious. In the future, no will will do what pleases them. Everyone will just follow, just like a bunch of robots. Robots, made with the great invention of science technology!

Even the simplest things require science. Wanna get rid of your wrinkles that haven't even developped yet? We got something for that. Wanna be skinner without the hastle of dieting and exercising? We got something for that. Wanna remove body hair for ever? We got something for that, too. All with the fortunate existence of science!

In another case, wanna be a writer? Poor your blood and tears into a few hundrend pages? Publish and sell hard copy books? Oh, wait, they already have that online! These science advances will come to no end. Everyone will abuse it until they get every last information they can.

Hate sciences but wanna make a lot of money in the future? Well, it seems like the only option is to actually do what you hate. Study what you can't stand.
People will have to give up what they always loved to do, just to be able to live a normal, stable life.

So the question comes to, WOULD YOU?

6 comments:

  1. I don't think that science would ever get such a high priority over arts and if it it did, there are arts being used in science and vice versa. When I think of art and science I think of the ying and yang in taoism.

    Would I stop doing the thing I like most to do the thing I hate to make more money? Not a chance in hell, and I don't see why anyone would.

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  2. I have to say I can't imagine the arts ever being overwhelmed entirely by economically-driven sciences. People are not work drones culture thrives when work and play are in balance.
    As seen already in extreme sports, very high end fashion and modern media forms of all kinds, the technology encourages the arts as the arts does the science.
    But hey, who knows what the future will look like?

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  3. interesting read, I agree for the most part. first off, yes, our society is infested with money hungry thieves that will do whatever it takes to make a quick dollar. and second, its true that there is more money to be made in the field of science, but there is also opportunity in the arts too, they go hand in hand sometimes like Evan said. Art is meant to express yourself, and there are many different types of art, not just drawing and painting(two jobs that dont pay very much). for example, music, sports, acting. all of these are forms of art that pay VERY well if you work hard. and even the painter and drawer can incorporate science into his skills to make money, like drawing/designing for a cartoon or a video game or maybe a clothing brand.

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  4. I agree with what you’re saying, the high paying jobs in our society all revolve around science, and it is hard to make money if you chose a career in the arts. My parents discouraged my enrollment in an art program, and pushed me into health sciences. At the same time, I think it’s important to have some faith that our world still has some creative and free thinkers, willing to chase their dreams, even if it costs them a few dollars.

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  5. I totally agree with what you all are saying, they do go hand in hand at some points, but in my opinion, eventually people won't even have a choice to go into an arts program. What people will make in those programs is like pocket change to people enrolled in science programs. And unless you are VERY well-connected and have money to begin with, arts wouldn't be the ideal program to go into. But then again, just my thoughts!

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  6. I once heard Matthew Barrett, then CEO of the Bank of Montreal, in a radio interview in which he keenly supported the value of an arts education and said that he would rather hire an English literature graduate than a business graduate. He himself had taken a liberal arts degree, that is, a study of western culture and civilization, history, philosophy, literature, and so on. So I went looking for him online, and came across this defense of arts education in an article that argues for a strong arts component in education in general and in the undergraduate degree qualifying medical radiation technologists in particular. Scan down the page to "Liberal Studies Education--The Virtues" which are classed under two broad headings: 1) Skills Development and the Needs of the Canadian Economy, and 2) The Development of Responsible Citizens.

    I think you have to follow your heart. Not all the jobs are in the sciences. An arts degree can give you a broad range of qualifications that are very attractive to employers and that I believe make your life richer as well.

    Here's the link to the full article again. I'm including a short excerpt from it here:

    "Below are some anecdotes of some prominent individuals concerning the liberal arts aspects of one's education.

    * Mathew Barrett, former CEO, Bank of Montreal, expressed the importance of a liberal studies education in the simplest way. He was asked which graduate he would hire, a Business graduate or an English graduate. He immediately responded that he would hire the person with the English degree because if you could understand symbolism in Chaucer, you would have no problem understanding the concept and purpose of a spread sheet.
    * Adrian Shubert of York University and former Chair of History at Stanford University in California stated that the most sought after skill sought by employers was the ability to communicate effectively in English, orally and in writing.
    * Robert Prichard, former President, University of Toronto, puts forward the idea that the pace of change resulting from globalization and technological innovation has made liberal arts education more valuable today than at any other time. He said "The skills endowed by a liberal education permit us to sort knowledge from information; the eternal from the fashionable; the compelling from the appealing!" He believes all students should graduate with [the] well-rounded capacity for critical thinking [that] is the hall mark of an educated citizenry."

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