Adversity in Science
Cold. Death. Uncertainty of surviving. Those were the conditions of Douglas Mawson, Australian explorer investigating Antarctica for scientific research. Henrietta Lacks, a woman who had her cells taken without permission, only for scientists to find out they rapidly multiply and help studies towards illnesses (Immortal Cells, Enduring Issues). Phineas Gage was a person who had a metal rod shot through his head and lived, which helped contribute to brain science (Book and Video), but none of their encounters come close to Douglas Mawson. Douglas Mawson faced the most adversity because of the setting, pain, and death.
One of the many reasons Douglas Mawson had to go though the most adversity for science is because of death. On page one of Into the Unknown, Belgrave Ninnis, part of Mawson’s trio, fell into a crevasse along with six other huskies, and their most valuable gear (Into the Unknown, page 1-2). Also, later on in Into the Unknown, as the rest of the huskies started to lose strength and died off, Mawson and Xavier Mertz shot and killed the dogs and ate them-gross. Mertz eating the husky liver,which caused an overdose of vitamin A, might have killed him, or it could have simply been hypothermia, which later then killed him (Into the Unknown, pages …show more content…
Mertz had gotten frostbite, and after eating husky liver, was rapidly losing his grip on reality. He went delirious, often having delirious spells. Additionally, after Mertz died, Mawson started having his soles of his feet fall off, spewing pus and blood. He had to tape the soles of his feet, and the article Into the Unknown stated that “Every step thereafter was an agony.” He also had open sores, peeling skin, and his hair coming out in clumps. He was in a lot of pain and
Cold. Death. Uncertainty of surviving. Those were the conditions of Douglas Mawson, Australian explorer investigating Antarctica for scientific research. Henrietta Lacks, a woman who had her cells taken without permission, only for scientists to find out they rapidly multiply and help studies towards illnesses (Immortal Cells, Enduring Issues). Phineas Gage was a person who had a metal rod shot through his head and lived, which helped contribute to brain science (Book and Video), but none of their encounters come close to Douglas Mawson. Douglas Mawson faced the most adversity because of the setting, pain, and death.
One of the many reasons Douglas Mawson had to go though the most adversity for science is because of death. On page one of Into the Unknown, Belgrave Ninnis, part of Mawson’s trio, fell into a crevasse along with six other huskies, and their most valuable gear (Into the Unknown, page 1-2). Also, later on in Into the Unknown, as the rest of the huskies started to lose strength and died off, Mawson and Xavier Mertz shot and killed the dogs and ate them-gross. Mertz eating the husky liver,which caused an overdose of vitamin A, might have killed him, or it could have simply been hypothermia, which later then killed him (Into the Unknown, pages …show more content…
Mertz had gotten frostbite, and after eating husky liver, was rapidly losing his grip on reality. He went delirious, often having delirious spells. Additionally, after Mertz died, Mawson started having his soles of his feet fall off, spewing pus and blood. He had to tape the soles of his feet, and the article Into the Unknown stated that “Every step thereafter was an agony.” He also had open sores, peeling skin, and his hair coming out in clumps. He was in a lot of pain and