Is natural better? Can man manufacture some synthetic that is superior? How about those who preach about the power of nature and natural products? Unlike my typical discussion here's a little different take. Hope you like the stories.

The Warriors

Mom. Why is there an ugly statue in front of our school of a guy holding a wooden club?

The mom looked over at her daughter as she lay in bed...asking questions to try and stay up just a little bit longer. With a little sigh the mom sat down beside her daughter and said "You are just trying to delay the inevitable but I'll tell you the story and then straight to sleep".

The little girl looked up at her mom and with a mischievous grin "Of course mom".

The mom sighed, then chuckled then started the story.

"The story starts once upon a time as so many old stories do. Once upon a time there was a small village that got word it was going to be invaded by another. The village was an exceedingly nice place to live with rich lands all around it. The people in town were happy, prosperous and have powerful weapons like guns and such. They knew that they could defend themselves.

So when the news came that they were going to be attacked they gathered all the able bodied men together to form a militia to ward off the enemy attack".

The daughter chimed in "Why didn't they get the women to fight too?" The mom simply replied "Maybe these people were also a little chauvenist.... but let me continue the story".

The town had a battle hardened warrior named Groph who was named as the commander of the troops and all the men in the village reported to him on a bright sunny morning to get training. Groph watched as each man arrived and then he sent them to the armoury to grab a powerful rifle. One by one the men went to the armoury until Jacobus stood before Groph and firmly said "I have a club and I will not use a rifle.

Groph was taken aback. He wasn't used to those people under his command talking back to him! However, as this wasn't a formal army he inquired "Recruit, why will you not grab a rifle? Why do you insist on your club?"

Jacobus asked Groph. "A rifle needs bullets doesn't it?" and Groph nodded and said "Of course it does". "A rifle needs to be aimed carefully doesn't it" and again Groph nodded "Yes". "If I miss with my rifle I might hit an ally" Jacobus continued. Groph thought about it and said "Yeah, I suppose you could". Jacobus kept on asking his questions one by one "If your barrel is dirty your rifle could explode". "If you get a hangfire the rifle could explode at the wrong time". "If a tiny firing pin breaks the rifle won't work". "If you don't oil the rifle and its parts it will rust and not shoot straight and maybe explode". Jacobus kept the questions coming but I suppose they were more like statements because he didn't really give Groph a chance to answer.

All the other recruits heard the conversation between Groph and Jacobus. Point by point the rifle seemed like a worse and worse idea. Now Jacobus was very charismatic and convincing. Groph was a powerful soldier and very valiant but not very bright. It wasn't long until Jacobus has convinced Groph and all the other recruits that a club was a much better weapon. It could easily be replaced from trees in the forest. It never needed ammunition. It couldn't misfire and blow up. It never needed ammunition. It didn't need oiling and care. It didn't cost anything from the city treasury. Training with it increased the physical prowess and overall health of the person training with it.

By the end of the conversation everyone was convinced that rifles were a fools weapon and they all went into the woods to find heavy sticks that they could use as clubs!

The recruits soon found heavy clubs and they smiled. Groph trained them day by day in hand to hand combat and showed them how to use their clubs to great effect. Watermelons could be bashed to bits. A few poorly timed blocks in sparring practice let everyone know how effective they were at hurting people. Everyone became stronger and faster. Indeed by the end of three months of training every one of the recruits was able to wield a club with skill and precision. Groph was pleased at how hard the men worked and the skill they now showed. Jacobus was very popular with all the other men for showing them a different way to defend themselves.

It wasn't long after that the enemy came to their village. The warning sirens in the town went off and the men grabbed their clubs and headed out to the battlefield. They saw the enemy soldiers, they ran with strong, well honed bodies to close the gap with the soldiers who faced them. They were steadfast and determined to protect their town...

.... Then the enemies rifles started to ring out...."

The mother paused for a moment.

The child smiled and said "So, is that why there is a statue of Jacobus in front of my school? Did the soldiers win the day with their clubs and Jacobus was raised up as a hero?"

The mother chuckled just a little. "No my dear. The statue is there because if it weren't for Jacobus our soldiers would have had a much more difficult time taking the town. Because of his efforts our soldiers were able to take the town without a single casualty.

We raised his statue not to honor him, but to remind ourselves that a convincing argument isn't always true

Kevin 7

In another time and in another place there was an old woman who looked down at her daughter lying in bed waiting for her bedtime story. Looking at the young girl, only eight years old, made her sad. How many more stories would she get to tell the girl before she succumbed to old age. How many years did she have left? Four? Five? Then she quickly put the thoughts out of her mind and focused on the present and the bedtime story that would send the little one off to sleep.

The old lady wrinkled her brow trying to decide what story to tell? Then she decided it was time for a very sad story. "Have I ever told you about the story of Kevin 7?". She knew she had never told the story but wanted to hear the child's voice. "No" came the enthusiastic reply. What's the story about?

"Well dearie, a long long time ago there was a very bright man who had a very bad day. The man's name was Kevin and he went to eat his porridge in the morning. He was just about to take his first spoonful and his wooden spoon split in half. He was most upset as without his spoon how would he eat his porridge? It was hot, moist and exceedingly sticky so using his fingers was unpleasant.

Now Kevin had a bad temper and slammed his fist on the table as he was so upset about the spoon. Unfortunately he hit the ceramic bowl and it fell to the ground and the bowl shattered. Now he had a sticky mess on the floor to clean up and still had no breakfast. He grumbled but got to work cleaning up the mess and cut his finger on the sharp ceramic pieces making him even more upset. When he finally finished the cleanup he grabbed a glass jar with jam inside and some bread that was sitting in the breadbox. He tried so hard to open the glass jar but the metal lid had rusted and it was nearly impossible to open...when he finally did it required so much force that it again fell to the ground and the jar cracked. Luckily it didn't break. He scowled but at least he had some jam so he went to the bread and found that ants had found a way inside and the bread had ants crawling on it. He shook it and wiped it off to get rid of the ants because he had no other breakfast available.

Kevin was in a very foul mood indeed when he had to eat anty bread with sticky jam!

Kevin never forgot that morning. He never forgot wooden spoons that split. Glass and Ceramic that broke. Wood boxes that didn't seal perfectly. He vowed he would find a way to make something that would work better and never break!

He studied hard and eventually became a wizard. He researched and studied. He studied, observed, learned and pondered. Eventually he found a way to make a most wonderful product..."

At this the little girl interrupted.... "Seriously? What kind of wizard is named Kevin?". The old woman chuckled "Well, mothers don't know what their child will become when they are born and Kevin is a perfectly fine name for a baby." Then she continued her story.

The material that Kevin made was indestructible. Well, mostly. It was light, strong, didn't shatter, didn't split and best of all it lasted forever. He made a spoon with it and it never ever split. He made a jar with it and it never every broke no matter how many times it dropped. He made a bowl from it and it never shattered either. He even made a breadbox with a seal and it was perfect. No ant could ever get through that!

People marveled at his invention. It was truly amazing! It was so amazing in fact that Kevin made seven different types of his new materials. He added different bits of magic to it so some of the material was thin and stretchy. Some was light and airy. Some was really tough and strong. Some was elastic and stretchy. Indeed there were seven types of "Kevinite" which worked its way into almost everything people used. Food was stored in it. Things were made from it. Clothes made from it never got eaten by moths. From Kevinite 1 to Kevinite 7 everyone everywhere used Kevinite!

But while Kevinite lasted forever and would never break down that didn't mean that it couldn't break. People could tear it. Children could eventually split it. Sometimes it just became an old style fashion and people simply discarded it. But it never broke down. Soon there was Kevinite all over the ground that people threw away. It was ugly so people decided that the ocean was huge so all the Kevinite would just be thrown there. It was a great idea. Throwing indestructible Kevinite into an infinte ocean.

Well, at first people tried burning the Kevinite but that was a really bad idea. Burning it made a foul poison that made people very sick.

As time went by everyone became so used to Kevinite that no-one gave a second thought about it or how much of it was piling up in the ocean. Until one day people threw Kevinite into the ocean and it didn't sink. It started to build and build until there was a mountain of Kevinite in the ocean! That's when people started to notice.

They started to notice that fish were nibbling at the Kevinite and tiny pieces of it stuck in the fishes stomach forever. People were eating the Kevinite and tiny pieces of Kevinite were sticking in people forever. When people were looking they found out that Kevinite was in everything. Tiny bits in the fruits, the vegetables, the animals and the fish. Then we noticed something else. Mortal bodies and immortal products like Kevinite don't mix well."

The little girl looked anxious. "Is that really true?".

The old lady nodded her head slowly and sadly. "Yes." then the lady sighed "Before Kevinite people often lived to be a hundred years old" the little girls eyes opened wide. "No way! People don't live nearly that long!". The old lady grimaced just a little at twenty five she knew her days were numbered... "I know my dear daughter, I know...."

The mother looked at her daughter as she turned off the light then thought to herself. Kevin gave us products that last forever...and now people who don't.

Natural VS Synthetic

As a pharmacist I often hear the words "natural is better" and think that is simply untrue. Sure a club may be a natural weapon but compared to a rifle? There is a very large imbalance between the two.

On the other hand just because something is better in many ways, like plastic (aka Kevinite) it doesn't mean that it is harmless or without risk.

In Pharmacy I also see it all the time with the medication behind the counter.

In nature we have Opium Straw which is a useful pain killer. With a little work you can get morphine which is a better pain killer but very addictive. With a little more work you get Fentanyl which is a powerful painkiller and also a scourge on society.

On the other hand we have Captopril which is actually a very useful blood pressure medication. Where did we get it from? From researching deadly snake venom which causes blood pressure to drop so low people die. Natural is far far too potent.

For the Hive learner prompt: Is natural always better?

I would say absolutely not.

Is synthetic or manufactured always better?

Again, absolutely not.

I'm a firm believer in the right product, at the right time, for the right reason in the right amount. Sometimes its natural. Sometimes its synthetic.

I hope you enjoyed the read. If you did (or if you didn't) feel free to leave a comment as I always love comments.

Final thought : Man makes wonderful tools and is creative in using what nature gives. In the end using the right tool for the right job whether synthetic or natural makes all the difference.