What's this? 2 weekends in a row I've been able to take part in my all-time favourite ongoing blockchain activity.
Yup! Of course, if you know me at all, you'll know that means 
I have my second weekend off work in a row which is rather a rare occurrence for me and I fully intend to grab it and run with it.
As ever, there are several prompt's, this week revolving around curiosity, learning and great mysteries.
My choice from the prompts was a 'no-brainer', which coincidentally is the exact number of brains I have.
I didn't need to give a second's thought to my answer, this post literally wrote itself within the confines of my head in an instant. It's a shame I am unable to type at the same speed that the thoughts and words avail themselves to me.
The mystery I would give anything to solve is the exact and precise cause of illness and disease.
More importantly of course, as I'm sure you realised, I would love to uncover the means to arrest, reverse and completely cure such ailments and relegate such human suffering to the dim and distant past.
It's a potentially naïve, maybe even juvenile and simplistic response to the question posed as I can imagine what would happen if such a gift for the entirety of humanity were in my grasp.
Naïve, simplistic, trite or otherwise, I do not recant my answer, the heart wants what the heart wants, right?
I could imagine that if this ability were within reach and I was able to facilitate perfect health for the whole planet, I would instantly become a target. Despite the fact this utopian endeavour would make the world a happier, more joyous place almost overnight there are those who would see threat in this ability.
Imagine the thoughts of 'Big Pharma' who have traded, profited and made their shareholders wealthy beyond their wildest dreams from the sickness and disease of people in every corner of the world.
Can you imagine the first instinct of all those doom-mongers who say the planet is over-populated?
Yes, this gift would not be without controversy or critics. You could even surmise that a healthy global community would perhaps be a threat to government everywhere as a healthy, vibrant world would be able to focus less on what ails it and look a little closer at those bodies who hold power and foresee a more fair, empowered, optimistic world.
Can you imagine countries like India, The Sudan, almost the entire continent of Africa? These are among the poorest, most deprived places on the planet, without the spectre of ill health standing behind them every day, they may attempt to stake their claim in the global community, many nations, especially Western ones do not like to share resources evenly do they?
The truth is of course that birth rates have levelled off and are often, actually in decline in most of the developed world. Much of the third world and developing world, birth rates are only so high because families need to ensure there is economic viability moving forward due to infant mortality rates that lag behind the rest of the planet for very obvious reasons.
The ability to cure all of planet Earth's health problems would bring the base level of prosperity on an upward trajectory, rapidly for those living in poverty and despair at the bottom of the food-chain.
What of everybody else?
Can you imagine the great strides forward we could make with this enormous burden removed from the caseload of the science and research community?
I see that there are no 'real' drawbacks to having this ability at our fingertips. It would allow many to pursue real purpose and meaning from life.
A healthy, joyous, happier global community would be free to stop looking over their shoulder for the biggest killers in the world and free to concentrate on the almost impossible task of making a better, fairer more connected world.
I often wonder if we already have the technological knowhow to defeat many of the big killers like cancer, heart disease and cholesterol and diabetes related disorders but that it would cost tens of billions of dollars to many long established corporate concerns.
I find it surprising that we conquered space, walked on the moon, split the atom, developed the most sophisticated super-computers that most people can now carry around in their pocket yet cannot cure cancer...
I thought the human genome project would have been followed up quickly with such breakthrough discoveries that would have had a profound effect for the health of the world by now. It does make me question the way of things.
How would the human experience be if the only thing that had the potential to see us off this mortal coil was accident or genuine old age?
I suspect it would be an overwhelmingly enormous culture shock that forced us to confront our own mortality in ways that we could not currently comprehend.
I think the very notion of human potential would be redefined hugely but I would not for an instant regret my decision to rid humanity of the scourge of ill health given the opportunity.
Of course we all currently have the opportunity to make the real decision and exhibit the absolute commitment necessary in taking charge of our own health and wellbeing, imagine that, wouldn't it be something?
The eternal truth that we only get one life to live and one body to live it with will probably always be true in a very real sense unless you believe the trans-humanists who believe we will have microchips, implants and all manner of technological upgrades to ensure our longevity...
No thanks, some things are better left as they are but isn't that what people always say when confronted with such a profoundly new and different way of doing things?
Thank YOU for taking the time to read my post and if you're one of those amazing people who like to hit the comments section... Then I doubly thank YOU!
Either way I want you to know that you are appreciated!
