Jurassic World: A parable

By Dr. Ronald Hoffman

Last weekend I went to see Jurassic World, the latest in Steven Spielberg's dinosaurs-run-amok franchise. I had read lukewarm reviews of the movie, but I decided to keep an open mind.

The plot is implausible, and the CGI action is no longer as novel as when Jurassic Park stunned audiences with its depiction of re-animated dinosaurs twenty years ago.

But once I put on the 3D glasses, it's as if my critical faculties were suspended, and I went with it. Despite its inevitable progression to catastrophe (who didn't see THAT coming?!), Jurassic World is a thrill ride that deserves its place in the Pantheon of Jurassic sequels.

But, interestingly, amidst the gore and roar, there lies an important parable for our modern world. Jurassic World is really about the perils of genetic engineering.

The ancient Greeks had a word for it: hubris. This was the theme of many Classical Greek dramas, dating back 2500 years. Man, in his pride, violates the laws of nature, challenges the supremacy of the gods, and must meet an inevitable, horrible fate. Oedipus is blinded after murdering his father, Icarus' wax wings melt and he falls to earth after trying to fly to the sun, and various mortals meet comparable ends after defying the gods.

Hubris is the underlying theme of Jurassic Park. The audience chortles in the early parts of the movies as technocrats offer bland assurances that "we've envisioned all possible contingencies," that the park is "completely safe," and that "security measures are the most stringent ever devised." We know that, most assuredly, within minutes all hell will break loose.

After seeing the original Jurassic Park in the 90s, I penned an article titled "Jurassic Park Medicine." There I compared the genetic resurrection of dinosaurs with polypharmacy-the use of multiple medications, especially in our elderly, vulnerable populace.

While just 10% of Americans under the age of 65 take 4 or more medications, by age 70-84, 41% of Americans take that many drugs; 17% take 6 or more! (Source)

Polypharmacy astronomically increases the likelihood that unforeseen side effects will develop, especially in our vulnerable elderly. When so many drugs are used simultaneously, there is just no way to predict how they will interact. The result is that iatrogenic (medically-caused) complications result in hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations annually; the side effects of drugs taken even as properly prescribed dispatch thousands of victims yearly.

Even Steven Spielberg's rampaging mutant dinosaurs couldn't wrack up that kind of toll!

But now, 22 years after the prophetic release of Jurassic Park, we are well on our way to implementing the very genetic technology that the original movie warned us against. GMO foods are flooding the marketplace, and in an ominous echo of Jurassic World, we've created super-sized "Frankenfish"-genetically modified salmon.

And we're now on the threshold of creating genetically modified humans. On the pretext of preventing hereditary diseases, Chinese researchers are "editing" the human genome to eliminate undesirable traits. How far that effort will proceed in a totalitarian society has some people worried.

It's no great spoiler to reveal that Jurassic World invokes the familiar tropes of unbridled capitalism, the rapacious drive for profits, and unrestrained consumerism. The plot has it that the public has become blas? about just ordinary dinosaurs, so the imperative is to concoct something "bigger, scarier, toothier." Unethical scientists at the behest of uber-rich entrepreneurs prove a bad mix. Mayhem ensues.

To take the metaphor one step further, the food industry's efforts to juice revenues by offering the public all manner of toxic, addictive food products can be seen as another example of the unforeseen consequences of Jurassic-style technological hubris. One "designer food"-trans fats-has recently been called for to be banned by the FDA after 60 years of opposition by eminent nutrition scientists. But synthetic chemicals, preservatives, and artificial flavorings still abound in the U.S. food supply.To take the metaphor one step further, the food industry's efforts to juice revenues by offering the public all manner of toxic, addictive food products can be seen as another example of the unforeseen consequences of Jurassic-style technological hubris. One "designer food"-trans fats-has recently been called for to be banned by the FDA after 60 years of opposition by eminent nutrition scientists. But synthetic chemicals, preservatives, and artificial flavorings still abound in the U.S. food supply.

What could possibly go wrong?!

The moral of the story is an old one: It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature!

Have a comment on this article? Send it.


 

Back to...

Health conditions and concerns

More in this group...

Page  1 2

Anti-aging medicine

Reflections on "health"

Growing older and memory

12 drugs you should never take (part 2 of 3)

13 reasons why most health studies are wrong

13 tests your doctor is not likely to offer, but you should ask for anyway

14 supplements you should NEVER take - updated! (part one)

9 things your doctor doesn't know about supplements (but definitely should)

Want to live longer? Here's how!

What's your Health IQ? Take this test to find out!

"Don't take your vitamins"? So not!

"Don't take your vitamins?" so not!

Intelligent Medicine Bone Health Protocol available now!

Intelligent Medicine Health News Review

Intelligent Medicine Shorts:

10 epic medical fails: Bet most of you have fallen for at least one! (Part one)

10 responses to supplement naysayers

10 things I got right 30 years ago

10 ways the foods you eat can affect your sex life

11 ways you can predict how long you'll live

12 drugs you should never take (part 1 of 3)

12 drugs you should never take (part 3 of 3)

12 supplements you should NEVER take

13 holiday survival tips

13 tips for surviving the holidays (part one)

13 tips for surviving the holidays (part two)

13 tips for surviving the holidays: Part One

13 tips for surviving the holidays: Part two

14 supplements you should NEVER take - updated! (part two)

14 things YOU know better than your doctor

14 things YOU know better than your doctor

17 nutraceuticals that can boost your immune response

18 supplements that may stave off Alzheimer's

21 ways to save your liver!

24 ways we should fundamentally transform our healthcare system

28 things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving

6 new products that I'm excited about in 2015

8 reasons why the FDA's recent ban on anti-bacterial cleansers is a good idea

A year-end message from Intelligent Medicine

American Heart Association doubles down on outmoded saturated fat recommendations

Are some medicines stealing your brain power?

Beating the winter blahs

Book review: "the story of the human body", by Daniel E. Lieberman, Ph.D.

Can a low-salt diet actually be BAD for you?

Chill out--it may be healthy for you!

Click bait health reporting: I'm calling BS on these 5 health stories

Clinical Focus: Nicotinamide Riboside

Cold, painful fingertips? Try these remedies!

Could a vegetarian diet undermine your mental health?

Debating a skeptic

Debunking the top 7 supplement myths

Defensive Eating: Taming your addiction to food

Detox in a box

Diversify your exercise portfolio

Do you have "poor protoplasm"?

Do you have WWS (Work Withdrawal Syndrome)?

Does this plug-in make me look fat? and does it matter anyway?

Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez: In Memoriam

Exercise that I do

Five health victories we've already won

Four more drugs you should avoid

From wraith to warrior: Hoffman Center's Grimaldy Vargas triumphs in her first Spartan Sprint race!

Frontline gets it wrong about supplements

GMOs: a primer

Happy Fourth of July! Plan a health revolution, and what's in store for Intelligent Medicine

Happy one millionth podcast! Let's review the best of 2015 so far

How to protect yourself from the harmful effects of antibiotics

ICYMI: Dr. Hoffman's Store now available through Fullscript!

Innovative therapies for Multiple Sclerosis

Intravenous vitamin c validated by new studies

Iron: Do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first?

Is the way to a (wo)man's heart through his(her) stomach?

Is there really a vast conspiracy to deprive us of cures and profit off our misery?

Is your BBQ killing you? Your personal anti-AGEing program

Is your Coumadin killing you? (The remarkable potential of vitamin K to stop arterial calcification)

Is your doctor a psychopath?

Jurassic World: A parable

Listen to your gut: What your microbiome can tell you about your overall health

Medical evolution will affect you, but how?

Michele Obama's water advocacy based on 'murky' science, say experts

My foray into personalized genetic testing

My foray into personalized genetic testing (part two)

My triathlon comeback

Paint-by-numbers medicine (part one)

Part two: 10 epic medical fails you may have fallen for

PhytoGuard: Your 'one-stop-shop' for phytonutrient benefits

Pushing back on the supplement alarmists

Real healthcare reform

Repeat after me: "Hunger is my friend!"

Saving the VA hospitals

Should doctors be role models for their patients?

Spring detox

Stem Cells: Panacea or snake oil?

Supplement of the week: DIM

Tamiflu: Our first-line drug against the flu is an epic-fail

Test your "Health IQ" ? round three!

Test Your Health IQ: Round Five!

Test Your Health IQ: Round four!

The artificial sweetener controversy: who should you believe?

Page  1 2