In response to the flu epidemic of 1918, John M. Barry writes about scientists and their research. In, The Great Influenza, Barry’s theme is based on the idea scientist have many characteristics, one of which is the courage to deal with uncertainty. He portrays his belief by using parallel structure, metaphors, and concrete imagery.
In the first paragraph, the following lines are a contradictory suggestion: “Certainty creates strength,” and “Uncertainty creates weakness.” It is the weakness that creates doubt. Barry believes “science teaches us to doubt.” Consequently, one must have the courage to accept uncertainty in order to succeed. Scientific inquiry involves searching for truth. Therefore the suggestion that a scientist should “embrace-uncertainty” is paradoxical. It is also contradictory to accept uncertainty when truth is what is actually desired. …show more content…
First, he describes the two using the analogy, “The best among them move deep into a wilderness region where they know almost nothing, where the very tools and techniques needed to clear the wilderness, to bring order to it, do not exist.” Barry then continues his claim about their similarities using metaphors throughout the remaining passage, “Each can take a single step in the right direction which could lead to success,” while “a single step can also take one off a cliff.” This suggests risks or other dangers of exploration that scientist must be prepared to face. Lastly, he states that if one succeeds, “a flood of colleagues will pave roads over the path laid” taking an investigator minutes to a place that the scientist/pioneer spent months looking for. Without uncertainty of the unknown, these paths would never be laid, as scientist would never begin the exploration in the first