Human remains

The story of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine should make us think about human dignity in death and life.

By now, you will have probably gathered that I am not a fan of mainstream media. I read the Times, starting from the chess puzzle and sports pages and glancing through the health stuff, which is rock-bottom quality. I eventually get through to the front page.

A follow-up of the Mallory and Irvine saga today caught my eye. I have followed the story for 40 years or so. Mallory and Irvine were two pioneering mountaineers who disappeared 800 feet below the summit of Everest in 1924. A 100-year fuss has been made of the fact that Irvine was carrying a Kodak pocket camera, and maybe if his body were found, the negatives would still be workable and prove or otherwise that the two had reached the summit of the highest mountain in the world 29 years before the first official successful attempt. 

I have always thought the Kodak story a distraction from the heroic efforts of pioneers to conquer adversity dressed in…