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Rachel Singleton
Eng 101
Alicia Bolton
February 20, 2012
Technology Can Be Useful but Never Perfect
In the movie Limitless, Bradley Cooper plays as a copywriter name Edward Moora whose life is
boring and dull. He ends up running into his ex wife’s brother, Vernon Gant, who gives him a pill that
changes his life forever. This pill allows him to have special abilities and to become smarter and see
things clearly that the average human being wouldn’t be able to see. Edward uses his special abilities in
the stock market, for example, turning $12,000 into $10 million in twelve days. In the end, based on a
scientist’s technology, he was able to tweak the pill, so it could be embedded in his body and he
wouldn’t have to take any more pills. This film demonstrates how simple technology can create
powerful products, sometimes not recognizing the problems it can cause. Even though I agree
technology has made some useful products we use in everyday life, I disagree that people should
depend and over rely on it without knowing the consequences or results.
I agree technology has created things that benefit us such as cell phones that has GPS, weather
and so forth. In the movie, Vernon Gant was able to come up with a drug based on technology that
would allow a human to think and make wise choices that would affect their future. In the film Gant
says, ‘You know how they say you can only access 20% of your brain, well what this does, it lets you
access all of it.” This makes it seem that if technology can create something like this, there is nothing
technology can’t do. Even though in reality there are no pills that can actually do these things, we can
see how people could possibly become hooked on something like this if it was created all because of
how it makes them feel and the things they would be able to achieve. For example, when steroids came
out, it became a big thing with sports athletes, enhancing a human’s performance during a game. From

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seeing others results from using this others eventually started to depend on this drug thinking they
could never be stopped. As long as technology creates something that knows it could become a huge
hit, Americans will always tend to rely and depend on it.
I also agree with technology that the world would never operate as it does without it. In the
film, Edward Moora takes the knowledge he gained from the pill and makes good use of it by going into
the stock market. Seeing how he was able to increase his stocks and make more money than anyone
could ever imagine, this gave him the door leading to new friends and connections and even some
enemies. This shows a brief view of how technology is used to determine different stocks and bonds.
The way that he is almost able to hack into the stock market world based on the technology given,
indicates that without some of the stuff they use, some Americans wouldn’t be as powerful as they are
today. Sometimes, I even take for granted the thought that without technology I wouldn’t be able to do
some things or it would take longer than it’s suppose to. Almost two years ago, my mom an some other
family members took a trip out of town. When we got there, she couldn’t exactly remember the exact
location of where we were supposed to be going because the place changed so much from the last time
we had been there. Using my GPS on my cell phone, we were able to be guided to the location. Without
the GPS, who knows how much unnecessary time would have been wasted just riding around looking for
it. Americans sometimes think of technology as a source of evil but forget that some of the things they
do wouldn’t be accomplished without technology.
I do however, disagree that we should over rely and depend on technology without knowing the
side effects or consequences. In the film, Edward’s ex wife Melissa shows him the results that would
happen if he continues to use the pill that technology created. In the movie she says, “Nobody can
operate at that level of mental activity and not crash. I stopped taking it and I got sick, headaches and
throwing up.” She looks very sick and tired. Some of Gant’s other customers that he gave the pill have
already died because of the side effects. Usually, when things like this happen, it is usually a warning

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sign to let a person know that if they keep doing what they’re doing, things will eventually not be so
good in the end. Another example of this in the film was when Edward kept taking the pill over and over;
he ended up in some sort of blackout. Just like humans, no technology is perfect. There will always be
some type of flaw or side effect that we won’t know until we keep using it.
Overall, the film was pretty good, especially when it came to providing Americans with
technology and how it is being used. No matter how much technology may help us now or in the future,
it is something that we should never take lightly. Technology will never go away because its always
developing into something new every day, so until then Americans will always continue to thrive and
depend on it. Although I agree that technology can be one of the most helpful tools that we have today
if we don’t abuse it, I disagree that Americans should avoid the side of effects or consequences that
technology can bring all because of how it may make a person feel. Technology was never perfect and in
the future it will continue to be imperfect.