THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN-Harold J. Morowitz
Summary
Dr. Harold J Morowita is a professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. He is a scientist, teacher, and author. ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’ is a popular essay in which Morowitz examines the statistical statement that the chemical value of the human body is only 97 cents. He spends his essay in refining and improving the statement and tries to arrive at a more accurate definition at the end.
From a biochemical catalogue he collects the information about the price of ingredients that the human body is made of. Then he calculates the average value of a gram dry weight of human being and his own dry weight. When he multiplies both, he finds his price, i.e. Six million dollar. But soon he realizes that each human being is priceless and infinitely precious. He concludes his essay with Alfred North Whiteheads conclusion that “ the human body is an instrument for the production at art in the life of the human soul.”
The author received a humorous birthday and from his daughter and son-in-law with a caption “ According to BIOCHEMISTS the materials that make up the HUMAN BODY are only worth 190 cents.” The definition compelled him to make thorough study of the entire matter. He started by sitting down with his catalogue from a biochemical company and began to list the ingredients and their prices. His biochemical value was 97c when he was paying for the informally poorest form of cool, air, water, lime, bulk iron, etc. but in the six million dollar figure he was paying for his atoms in the highest informational state in which they are commercially available.
It can be done for less than six thousand trillion dollars. But we cannot evaluate the human life in biochemical point of view. An incubator can develop micro-organisms artificially but it cannot assemble the cells into tissues, tissues into organs, and organs into a person, fill it with life and make a human being.
Thus, each human being is priceless and infinitely precious. We cannot evaluate a person’s life in terms of money. The rationality and humanity are the characteristics of human being. It can produce anything. Alfred North Whitehead is true that “ The human body is an instrument for the production of art in the life of human soul.”
Morowitz shifts his subject. He starts out talking about the human body and ends up talking about the human being. Human body and human being differ from each other. Human body is made up of chemical organism but a man becomes human being because of consciousness, rationality and some indispensable human qualities.
Summary
On his birthday, the writer got a card from his daughter and son in law which stated that the price of human body is only 97 cents. The writer was not satisfied with this definition of human body. So, he himself started to investigate the thing by himself. He consulted a catalogue which contained the names of the different chemicals which make a human body. The prices of the chemicals were written in the catalogue according to per gram. Some chemicals were cheaper whereas some chemicals were really very costly. The writer started his computation. He took his weight and subtracted from 68 % of water portion. He found that his dry weight 24,436 gm and by a further computation, he came to know that he was worth of 6 million dollars.
He became very glad at this discovery. He had been sad at the information of 97 cents only but by his discovery, he suddenly felt that he was really a rich man. But, again he gave the whole matter a second thought. He thought that the chemicals printed in the card were only crude chemicals. So, they did cost so little. Again, the next difficulty was the price of the refined chemicals. Certainly, human body is not made up of crude chemicals but by the refined chemicals. In that case, his price was certainly not only six million dollar but six billion.
Again, he was not satisfied and started to think in a new direction. He thought that if at all he bought all the needed chemicals and put them in a bottle and also put the bottle in a fridge and if he shook the bottle he wasn’t going to get a human body from it. Some organism was needed to change the chemicals into bones, flesh, and the other organs of the body. No such method or organism is invented yet. Even if it was invented and even if we could make a human body with the help of chemicals and the machines, the product wouldn’t speak or feel or be angry or love anyone.
To sum up, though science can make a human body (though it’s not possible yet), science is certainly not going to make a human being. In fact, there is the difference between human body and human being. Human body can be talked in the terms of money but human being is priceless. Indeed, human being is the infinite preciousness. This is the final definition given by the writer.
Summary
Once the writer received a birthday greetings card where it was written that the material value of human body was worth only 97 cents. Being a scientist himself, the writer becomes curious and decided to examine the statement with the help of catalogues given to him by biochemical companies. He calculated various human body chemicals ranging from three dollars to 17 crore 50 lakh dollar per gram and discovered that the average value of human body chemical was $245.54 per gram. Further calculation brought the value of human body chemicals over six million dollar. On discovering this fact that he was a six million dollar man, the writer felt a great up graduation in his ego. Being a scientist, the writer calculated the human body chemicals in the highest informational and purified form whereas in the 97 cents figure printed on the birthday card, the calculation was done in the poorest informational state and for unpurified block of chemicals only.
We may procure the human body chemicals required to form a human body from bio-chemist lab. It is impossible to assemble the body chemicals into a complete human form. The collection of body chemicals can not be equalized with human being as it can not act and feel like human beings. After detailed analysis, finally the writer comes to the conclusion that human body is readily invaluable and it is improper to compare human beings in terms of money.
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