Cacao beans and Certainty

Nut of the week: Cacao beans

Not to be confused with cocoa, cacao beans are the actually seeds derived from the cacao plant. They are the basis for all the chocolate products that we consume. 

While the basis for chocolate based products is the cacao bean, the basis of scientific research is uncertainty. Throughout the week, we have picked, dissected, and discussed all of the rhetorical strategies and noteworthy details in this passage of John M. Barry's book The Great Influenza. In the passage, Barry states how the world of science is a "frontier" of uncertainty and doubt. However, his book The Great Influenza, is actually a recount of the events of the 1918 influenza pandemic. While originally reading the passage, I wondered how the short passage we read in class related to the complete book that Barry wrote. After a little research and analysis, I discovered that Barry also talks about how the U.S. medical education transformed during the events of the 1918 influenza pandemic and how those changes continue to influence medical research and practices even today. Scientists and medical researchers were on that "frontier" trying to find solutions to the pandemic in a world of uncertainty and doubt.While I don't have enough time to read the complete story of Barry's book, I am satisfied now that I have a glimpse of the full picture and can understand the connections between the passage we read in class and the book. In the words of John M. Barry, science has taken me "through the looking glass".