Public Viewing of Cadavers: A "Vein" Hope for Immortality

Just what exactly is our obsession with viewing preserved dead bodies? Whether its animals or humans, it seems that those with no tangential interest in anatomy take extreme interest in the display of a bare-bones (or muscle-wrapped, or anything in between) cadaver. The only thing odd may be that I haven't seen yet an advertisement that included a cadaver with the skin intact. Maybe because skin is just too personal... and creepy when its dead.

A recent exhibition in Raleigh piqued my girlfriend's own interest. I understood her curiousity, and felt a bit myself. But how would I take it, having lost both parents and countless influential people in my short life? I put it off.

Then an exhibit at Charlotte's Discovery Place caught her attention and interest, as well as a few of my other friends and family in the area. So far, it looks to be of less quality (and more affordable) than the Raleigh exhibit. I don't have a way to dodge this yet, but luckily the pressure has been low.

And a few weeks ago, an article about pharmaceutical pioneer Sir Wellcome's odd medical collection stated:

The permanent exhibitions contain quite a few human specimens... Next to the chairs stands a head-to-toe slice of a human corpse. Londoners, though, seem cavalier about viewing body parts as art. A diamond-encrusted cast of a skull by Damien Hirst, recently on show in a Mayfair gallery, was noticed far more for its over-the-top bling than for any connection with the human brain.

It seems to me that this obsession with human cadavers is no more than man's fascination with his own mortality. To see what I'm talking about, look at any local bar for a gent with tattoos, and I'll bet you'll find most of them have tatoos of skulls or skeletons. Even the most docile of us wonder about The Great Beyond and Eternity. Perhaps the prospect of having one's body displayed to the world, or the prospect of having it preserved, is our own attempt tricking the mind into accepting death by serving its egoistic tendencies.

It's quite interesting though, that this behavior serves no evolutionary purpose, insofar as I can tell, as most humans stop reproducing far before they expect to die, and far after their children have left the nest.

Cheating: Jobs and Relationships

Without going into too much detail, please take the following scenario:

1. Policemen need to be honest.
2. The nature of their work exposes them to bribes: opportunities to "cheat."
3. Their decision to cheat relies partly on the probability of getting caught, the amount of the bribe, and some sense of satisfaction (with themselves, their ethics, their job, etc.).
4. Many less will cheat with a higher salary, but bribes may just become bigger to compensate.
5. So, they may be kept from cheating by keeping a significant portion of their compensation out of their pockets until their entire career can be "certified" clean; that is, give a good pension to the deserving, good cop.

Now, it may not seem natural at first, but taking the scenario of a spouse, or commited one into account:

1. Spouses need to be honest. Love one another. Be trustworthy. All that jazz.
2. The nature of being a social animal exposes them to plenty of opportunities to "cheat." Define that however you wish.
3. Their decision to cheat relies partly on the probability of getting caught, the reward for cheating (the attractiveness of the individual, their attentiveness, their gifts, etc.), and some sense of satisfaction (with themselves, their ethics, their relationship, etc.).
4. Many less will cheat with a better looking mate, a higher combined income, better emotional security... but barring it all they may just cheat with an even further attractive mate. In the end, its all about morals. Why else would super-celebs cheat?
   
5. So, then, what keeps one from cheating? A significant portion of compensation must be kept until after a clean record can be proven. Since gifts, income, and even beauty don't make much sense here, I am left an appearantly logical conclusion: give good couples a great reward. God will give us good "pensions" for displaying His love and commitment in our human endeavours on Earth.