#28: Not Worth It
As humans, we are naturally curious about ourselves and the world around us. But to what end is it worth it to make certain discoveries? Psychologist Harry Frederick Harlow conducted an experiment to prove that humans need love and affection to survive. That is a commendable goal, but his methods had very, very dark consequences.
Harlow chose rhesus monkeys as the subjects of his affection experiments because they are socially similar to humans. His experiments on infant rhesus monkeys were extremely disturbing. Harlow isolated infants from their mothers, used “surrogate” fake “mothers,” and did other abusive things in the name of science. As a result, these poor monkeys suffered from irreversible mental and social issues. His cruel experiments proved that babies benefit from parental physical affection, but at what cost?