Sci-Fi Log #3: Real Life Dinosaurs - Cool or Not?

In my science fiction class, we are currently reading “Jurassic Park” by Michael Crichton. It’s a story about how a wealthy man named John Hammond has a dream of creating a theme park unlike anything the world has ever seen: A park with living, breathing dinosaurs.  He uses his money to buy a large, remote island, and for genetic research, to clone the dinosaurs. Hammond invites famous paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant and his partner paleobotanist, Dr. Ellie Sattler, to come and explore the island, along with famous mathematician Ian Malcolm, and a lawyer representing the Jurassic Park investors, Donald Gennaro. They are pessimistic about the park and say that it most likely won’t succeed. Hammond constantly disagrees with them, until things in the park start to go horribly wrong…
When I was younger, I was fascinated with dinosaurs. My older brother taught me about the many different kinds of dinosaurs there were. We played games, read books, and watched TV programs about them. We were obsessed with everything dinosaur-related. We then discovered the movie, Jurassic Park. We absolutely loved it. Not long after, we got the PC games based on the movie and played them almost everyday. We were captivated by the history and the creatures of the prehistoric world.
I always wondered what it would be like to have actual living dinosaurs in the world today. When I was a child, I was ecstatic about the idea. I mean, real-life, roaring, living dinosaurs? SO COOL! But now, in my 17-year-old mind, I realize that it is a terrible idea. Having dinosaurs would be cool, but there is so much that could go wrong. Michael Crichton’s book explains how dinosaurs in the present day could wreak havoc on humanity. His story explains an idea similar to Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, with the common sci-fi idea that tampering with life unconsidered could cause major consequences.