Pandora Effect - means the effect when due to curiosity a person commits an action with irreversible consequences for himself, his loved ones, a whole country or the whole world. The name is based on the ancient Greek myth of Pandora.

What do you think?

• Which is better: the unpleasant truth or the unknown?
• Do people have to learn everything, and if not, how do you define the boundary beyond which they should not go?
• Are you obliged to learn everything to improve your stay on earth or are there some mysteries that should be left unsolved?

Today, the Pandora effect is a metaphor for the possible dangerous consequences of exploring the unknown for the sake of satisfying one's interest.

"Although curiosity is seen as a human good because it can contribute to scientific progress and improve people's lives, it can often also be a human curse." Psychological Science.

The paradoxical nature of this trait was expressed by the ancient Greeks in the mythical mortal girl Pandora. According to legend, at birth Zeus gave Pandora two gifts:
1. curiosity (the desire to learn about the world around her).
2. A beautiful box decorated with precious stones, which Pandora was to keep, and which he forbade her to open, as the contents of the box should not be seen by mortals.

Pandora studied nature and people, desiring knowledge. Being impatient, she often wondered what was inside the box? Why can't the contents be viewed? And why did Zeus say to keep it safe. Pandora easily explored the world around her, a world with only one mystery beyond her reach. The obsession with Pandora's secret box grew and became unbearable.

One day, hiding so that no one would see, she couldn't resist opening the box. Suddenly, acrid smoke burst out of the box with loud groans, and the box itself turned into an ordinary box.

It turned out that Zeus had used the box to store all the evil forces and misery he had mistakenly created. Horrified, Pandora realized what Pandora had done. She desperately tried to catch the escaped forces of evil to imprison them back.
But once freed, they would never return.

Crying over the open box, suddenly she heard a voice echoing below. It echoed downstairs and eased her suffering. That voice was hope.

Looking inside the drawer, Pandora would never be able to undo what she had done, but taking hope with her from the drawer, Pandora's pain lessened a little.

Examples of the pandora effect:

• When humans invented gunpowder, they almost immediately began using it to kill other humans.
• By importing hares into Australia to solve their food problems, sailors nearly destroyed the ecosystem of an entire continent.
• The nuclear bomb that killed 214,000 Japanese and wiped out the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is the result of atomic research. But nuclear power plants provide electricity and heating. And advocates of nuclear power argue that this type of energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions and carries far fewer environmental risks than other types of energy generation. In time, research on the atom could yield a virtually unlimited source of cheap energy (the problem of controlled fusion.).
• The discovery of trans fats used in fast food was initially accepted as a golden ingredient for making tastier and cheaper food, and then an epidemic of heart disease followed.

What are some examples you know of the Pandora effect?