Saturday, December 31, 2016

AMERICAN PROMETHEUS

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Heinrich_fueger_1817_prometheus_brings_fire_to_mankind.jpg/200px-Heinrich_fueger_1817_prometheus_brings_fire_to_mankind.jpg

Prometheus stealing fire from Mount Olympus and giving it to humans.

 
 Zeus' Eternal Punishment of Prometheus
An Eagle Feeding Daily on His Liver
{Eventually Hercules Slays the Eagle, Freeing Prometheus}


http://robertoppenheimerlife.altervista.org/alterpages/robert-oppenheimer-life-portrait.jpg 

A few of you will recognize his face; many of you will not.  Similarly, some of you will recognize his name while many will not - J. Robert Oppenheimer.  You can hear an interview here.

Given the picayune, punitive and paravanimitous nature of the panjandrum that is Trump and his minions, I think that it is important that everyone, particularly scientists, have an understanding of the story of Oppenheimer.  One of the best ways to do this is to read American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer, or, since it is a lengthy tome, at least read some of the reviews, one linked above the picture and others at Amazon, such as this:

"In American Prometheus, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin delve deep into J. Robert Oppenheimer's life and deliver a thorough and devastatingly sad biography of the man whose very name has come to represent the culmination of 20th century physics and the irrevocable soiling of science by governments eager to exploit its products. Rich in historical detail and personal narratives, the book paints a picture of Oppenheimer as both a controlling force and victim of the mechanisms of power. 

By the time the story reaches Oppenheimer's fateful Manhattan Project work, readers have been swept along much as the project's young physicists were by fate and enormous pressure. The authors allow the scientists to speak for themselves about their reactions to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, avoiding any sort of preacherly tone while revealing the utter, horrible ambiguity of the situation. For instance, Oppenheimer wrote in a letter to a friend, "The thing had to be done," then, "Circumstances are heavy with misgiving." 

Many biographies of Oppenheimer end here, with the seeds of his later pacifism sown and the dangers of mixing science with politics clearly outlined. But Bird and Sherwin devote the second half of this hefty book to what happened to Oppenheimer after the bomb. For a short time, he was lionized as the ultimate patriot by a victorious nation, but things soured as the Cold War crept forward and anti-communist witchhunts focused paranoia and anti-Semitism onto Oppenheimer, destroying his career and disillusioning him about his life's work. Devastated by the atom bomb's legacy of fear, he became a vocal and passionate opponent of the Strangelovian madness that gripped the world because of the weapons he helped develop.

The coming administration includes folks who believe among other things, that global warming is a hoax, that creationism is equally as valid as evolution, that science is biased, that public education should be dismantled, and that billionaires know best.  Such moral, ethical and intellectual vacuity coupled with militaristic jingoism and not-so-veiled threats that dissidents should 'watch what they say', should give pause to us all.  Sadly, it won't.  Nevertheless, we should be ready to speak out against a return to the days of Joe McCarthy, when the government could destroy via innuendo and accusation.  If they can do it to Oppenheimer, who I believe was more patriotic than any of the Make America Great Again crowd, they can do it to anyone.  So, my challenge to you is to read American Prometheus, and ponder if we are going to see a repeat of the Tragedy portion of Oppy's story. The Tragedy portion is summarized very well by a quote from Erwin Chargaff:

 "That in our day such pygmies throw such giant shadows only shows how late in the day it has become."

It is not surprising that a man of such great intellect would have Stravinsky's Requiem Canticles as his funeral music.


14 comments:

Bizzy Brain said...

Can't get me to bite on the Trump bashing for now(lol), but here's a very good article on Oppenheimer. https://infogalactic.com/info/J._Robert_Oppenheimer

Douglas E said...

Aw, come on BB -I know you got lots to say!!! :-)

H,L.Mencken said...

“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” -- H L Mencken -- Baltimore Evening Sun, 26 July 1920

Bizzy Brain said...

H.L., we escaped the adornment of the White House by a moron by not electing Hillary. She is really dumb and her only claim to anything resulted from clinging to her pus-sac, sorry excuse for a man, Bill Clinton. (Getting warmed up, DES.)

Douglas E said...

Bizzy - just don't confuse my disdain for most things Trump and any kind of endorsement of Crooked Hillary :-) I found the whole shebang disheartening - really - this is the best the country has to offer for the most influential position in the world? As I have said before, Trump seems not to be draining the swamp, but rather restocking it with new species of scum.

Hoosier Terd Knocker said...

After reading about Oppenheimer, am thinkin’ I may have missed my life’s calling. Maybe should have been a theoretical physicist and made atom bombs and stuff rather than being a theater usher. Was always good at arithmetic and like to see things explode. Fourth of July is my favorite holiday.

Bizzy Brain said...

Rest assured, DES, I never pictured you as a Hillary supporter, and, most importantly, never considered you a "never Trumper." Getting beyond your criticisms of Trump and his minions as they relate to climate, evolution, science, and public education, the country is as divided as it was after the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. There is no common ground between liberals and conservatives. The hatred and contempt between the winners and losers in the recent election does not bode well for the country over the next four to eight years.
The social fabric of the country has been torn asunder. The Clinton supporters believe anyone not on their side is deplorable, racist, misogynist, and fans of Hitler. Trump supporters believe anyone not on their side is low IQ, Muslim loving, deceitful, fans of a criminal. The gulf between the two sides is unbridgeable.
Although you would never be confused with a right wing conservative, it is hard for me to perceive of you as a liberal either. Reason for that is your abhorrence of violence and Liberals are the party of violence. Barack Obama has done more to destroy race relations and sense of community than any president in history. His divisive rhetoric and actions over the last eight years created the atmosphere for the acrimonious election and the violent protests that followed.
His failure to quell the Soros funded Black Lives Matter terrorist organization has resulted in the slaughter of police across the country. Meanwhile, his hometown of Chicago has seen close to 800 homicides and over 4,400 shootings in 2016 – with over 90% blacks killing blacks. Police are simply reluctant to do their job anymore. Etc., etc.

Hugh G. said...

"Hands up, don't shoot" is a perfect example of the left loving violence. It was a hoax from day one and resulted in nationwide rioting and violence, yet Obama permitted the hoax to continue because he loves the violence and turmoil because he hates the country. All he had to do was give a national speech in prime time to tell the world that "hands up, don't shoot" was a hoax and for the rioters to knock it off and go home. Of course, he would never do anything like that.

Rick O'Shea said...

Of course, liberals would claim to "abhor" violence, but a basic tenet of liberalism is the end justifies the means. If murder, mayhem, and rioting are perceived as advancing the leftist causes of "social justice" and "equality," then so be it. To hell with being a peaceful and productive member of a civilized society.

Douglas E said...

Bizzy - completely agree about the divided country, and not necessarily divided into two parts. I don't think that the simple left-liberal, right-conservative that Hugh and Rick allude to is correct. A case can be made that both the left and the right love violence, especially when it comes to making war. There are left/progressives that are fiscal conservatives, and right-leaners that support corporate welfare and bailouts. You get the picture. As for the BLM, WLM and ALM groups - they all pick and choose whose life matters. I don't see any of them truly embracing the concept that all lives matter, e.g. Jews, gentiles, Muslims, Christians, Israelis, Palestinians, immigrants of all sorts, poor, and on and on.

Bizzy Brain said...

A divided nation school of thought I heard of and makes sense more than right vs. left is globalists/elitists vs. nationalists/populists. It became clear in recent years that there was little difference between Republican and Democrat Congressional leadership. They were elitists controlled by the global financialists. It didn't matter how people voted, they were dished up the same crap and became exasperated to the point we now have Trump in charge, not necessarily as a "conservative," but what I would call a "civic nationalist." The corporate elites and their enablers in government have betrayed the interests of the men and women who do the nation’s essential work, the “populists.” These populists blame elites in big business and government for undermining the common folk’s economic interests and political liberties, and in the last election, their voices were finally heard.

Douglas E said...

BB - good summary!

Bizzy Brain said...

Thanks, DES! At least it evaded the plagiarism checker. Lol!

Bizzy Brain said...

Previous comment wouldn't, but last one does.