Thomas Mistakes
Over the course of time, mankind has maintained to innovate and transform the way of life in a positive way for people all over the world. However, these actions were not all free from mistakes. Mankind has made mistakes since the beginning of time, and some of these mistakes have helped to discover the world’s greatest discoveries and inventions. The author of The medusa and the Snail, biologist Lewis Thomas, asserts that if mistakes are not made, then nothing useful can be accomplished. Lewis Thomas’s assertion is very reasonable and should be considered accurate due to the great amount of inventions and discoveries created by mistakes. Mistakes are a part of human nature, no matter how hard one tries, there will be mistakes sooner or later
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Most of the time, these discoveries are made by mistake, but have a great impact on the world. Thomas states, “And then, if it is a lucky day, and a lucky laboratory, somebody makes a mistake: the wrong buffer, something in one of the blanks, a decimal misplaced in reading counts, the warm room off by a degree and a half, a mouse out of his box, or just a misreading of the day’s protocol. Whatever, when the results come in, something is obviously screwed up, and then the action can begin,” (Lines 18-25). The findings of a laboratory cannot become significant unless a mistake is made which makes a laboratory lucky. One example of this is the discovery of x-rays. A physicist named Wilhelm Rontgen was investigating the properties of cathode rays, he was not planning on discovering anything. However, he noticed a flicker on the machine he was using, and to his surprise, he saw a skeletal hand. He could not believe it. Somehow an unknown discharge passed through the air and through his hand. This allowed his bones to cast shadows on the screen he was using. The discovery of the x-ray forever changed the way doctors diagnose many people and has saved many live around the world. If it were not for the accidental discovery of the x-ray by Wilhelm Rontgen or any other accidental discovery, then the way of life, as many people know it, might not have been the same as it is
Most of the time, these discoveries are made by mistake, but have a great impact on the world. Thomas states, “And then, if it is a lucky day, and a lucky laboratory, somebody makes a mistake: the wrong buffer, something in one of the blanks, a decimal misplaced in reading counts, the warm room off by a degree and a half, a mouse out of his box, or just a misreading of the day’s protocol. Whatever, when the results come in, something is obviously screwed up, and then the action can begin,” (Lines 18-25). The findings of a laboratory cannot become significant unless a mistake is made which makes a laboratory lucky. One example of this is the discovery of x-rays. A physicist named Wilhelm Rontgen was investigating the properties of cathode rays, he was not planning on discovering anything. However, he noticed a flicker on the machine he was using, and to his surprise, he saw a skeletal hand. He could not believe it. Somehow an unknown discharge passed through the air and through his hand. This allowed his bones to cast shadows on the screen he was using. The discovery of the x-ray forever changed the way doctors diagnose many people and has saved many live around the world. If it were not for the accidental discovery of the x-ray by Wilhelm Rontgen or any other accidental discovery, then the way of life, as many people know it, might not have been the same as it is