<p>Prompt: What is one great question every educated person must ask?</p>
<p>The key to success in our world lies in the hands of every educated person. They are the light that cracks like dawn; the beginning of human civilization. Without them, we would live in a dark, shadowed world, where men devour each other in hunger. However, with power comes responsibility. They may pave the road towards success, but they also have the ability to destroy everything with a blink of an eye. And because of that - after every amazing invention or discovery they unfold - they must ask themselves whether their invention is harmful to mankind, and if so, how they could minimize its damaging effects.</p>
<p>Pierre and Marie Curie were the highlight of their time. Back in 1897, a scientist by the name of Henri Becquerel had discovered that uranium salts spontaneously gave off rays of an unknown nature. Marie was enthralled. She began her own expedition, and determined the rays to be ‘radioactive’. After several and innumerous experiments, Marie unraveled an enigmatic element yet unknown to mankind. This certain element was twice as strong as uranium, and more radioactive. Pierre took an interest in her work, and forsook his own research about magnetism to aid the marvelous discovery his wife had made. Together, they extracted concentrated amounts of the element – which they called radium – from pitch-blende. Once radium was in concentrated amounts, it was thrice more effective in giving out harmful radiation. Of course, Marie and Pierre were unaware of the adverse effects their marvelous invention had. What they knew about it was that it burned their skin if touched without a protective barrier – preferably lead. And that is how Pierre’s own expedition began. He deliberately burned his own arm with radium in order to record the developing stages of his injury – should anyone come across its unknown symptoms. While doing so, he discovered that the rays were capable of destroying cells. This discovery led to the treatment of cancer and lupus using radiotherapy. </p>
<p>However, a myriad number of inventions have been used to serve ill-willed intentions. The likes of which includes the invention of rocket ships. Despite a lifelong passion for astronomy and a dream that rockets could be used to explore space, Wernher von Braun’s talents were used to produce the Nazi V2 rocket which was responsible for the death of over thousands of people. Later, he developed a series of ICBM rockets capable of transporting multiple nuclear warheads around the globe before redeeming his reputation with the Saturn V rocket that put men on the moon.</p>
<p>Our world is brimming with innovative ideas and possible advancements; it’s up to those committed enough to unravel them to realize the power they behold. What they unearth might be mankind’s salvation, and destruction as well. </p>