Summary of The Six Million Dollar Man | Magic of Words | Grade XI
Summary of The Six Million Dollar Man: Harold J. Morowitz
Morowitz examines the chemical value of the human body in ‘Six Million Dollar Man’. From the minute calculation of each chemical and substance, the writer comes to the conclusion that each human being is priceless. Human can’t be exchanged with money. Each human has infinite preciousness, which can’t be compared with money. No one can buy human intellect, love, sympathy, and reaction. Writer attacks over the biochemical companies which are responsible to spread the fake message that the human body can be exchanged at price.
One day Morowitz got a humorous birthday card from his daughter and some in law. The front part of the cared showed that according to Biochemists the materials that make up the human body are only worth 97£. It was so less value, so, the writer decided to make a thorough study of the entire matter. He started to observe a catalog of a biochemical company.
By calculating the value of all substances given in the catalogue, he concluded that the average value of a gram dry weight of the human body was $243.54. Writer’s weight was 76,364 grams and by removing 68% water, he could be 24,436 grams. He multiplied 24,436 with 245.54 and knew that his actual cost was $6,000,015.44. He was a six million dollar man, which was really an enormous amount than just 97 cents.
Ninety-seven cent was very less price than the price of coal, air-water, lime, irons, etc. Modern science was unable to calculate the number of various substances like proteins, amino acids, etc. The writer says that six million dollars are much too low price of a man. Only insulin and ribonuclease are synthesized but the larger portion is left. If the human price is done in terms of cellular substructures, the cost can be outnumbered.
The writer comes to the conclusion that one can buy macromolecular components of the human body but not a human being. The unstable molecules of -70 neither can cast vote nor can claim for rights. Similarly, a dry-ice chest full of organelles cannot make love and complain. The writer says that it is impossible to collect cells into tissues, tissues into organs and organs into a person. So, the human body can’t be compared with money. Each human being is priceless. Our body is an instrument for the production of art in the life of the human soul.
