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Atomic Age: Creating a Monster

Nuclear discoveries involving fission during the 1930’s led to interest and research in using it related to weapons, medicine, generating power, and much more.  To me, one of the most fascinating parts about the nuclear discoveries is the fact that it created the possibility for greater benefit and destruction in these areas than the world had previously known.  As one source states, “Once the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, Americans realized a new era in history, one defined by the ability of humans to destroy their world.” 

This reminds me of Frankenstein, because these scientist’s discoveries led to the creation of a monster.  In a PBS documentary it was said that J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb”, “tried to warn his countrymen of their dangers, but powerful figures within the government feared he was a treat to America’s security.”  As quoted in the same documentary, Oppenheimer said of his discoveries, “We knew the world would not be the same.  A few people laughed.  A few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu Scripture the Bhagavad-Gita.  Vishnu is trying to persuade the prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.  I suppose we all thought that one way or another.”

Firms . . . Forming when and why?

One of our assigned readings for class was focused Ronald Coase’s ideas on when firms form and why.  It was fascinating to read about this, and I learned a lot.  According to our reading, Coase believed that, “firms will arise when they can arrange to produce what they need internally and somehow avoid these costs [of using the market].” 

Psychology: Our Many Selves

In our Digital Civilizations class last week we talked about psychology.  We discussed Freud and Jung and their theories and beliefs about the human mind.  When we were talking about this someone (I apologize that I don’t remember who it was) mentioned a quote from C.S. Lewis. 

Modernism--the break down of certainty

During the late 19^th century and early 20^th century, there was a reaction to the Enlightenment ideals.  Below are some of my notes from our Digital Civilizations discussion on modernism:

·         Reaction to Enlightenment ideals > rationality

·         Reaction to positivism > truth

·         Lack of certainty

·         Lack of faith in progress

·         War—industrialized war

·         Relativity—Freud

·         Perspectivism—Nietzscher: morals based on perspective and circumstances—dangerous

·         Art for art’s sake—formal (playing with form), detached, rhetorical)

·         God’s role replaced with art and science

·         Surrealism, Expressionism (nonrepresentational—doesn’t look like—throw back to Romanticism)

John Scopes (Monkey) Trial

In class we talked about Darwin’s theory of evolution and his work, Origin of Species, which he wrote in the late 1850’s.  Sixty-five years later, evolution was the topic of a court case that started in Dayton, Tennessee.  It arose over the conflict of a teacher who had taught evolution in a school despite the fact that the law forbid doing so. 

The Frontier--Making of the American Character

In our Digital Civilizations class we recently talked about the American Frontier.  As I was reviewing some of the material, I found some fascinating things that I want to share.  The following are some quotes from Frederick Jackson Turner’s paper entitled, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”.  As I read these I realized that often we view the American “West” as what had to be overcome or colonized.  We watch movies that show the ruggedness and the need for civilization.  However, as we look closer we see that the “West” allowed for development of people.  Even though the way that the “cowboys and Indians” lived lacked some aspects of a cultured civilization, we come to find that it is that lack of strict structure that allowed for the development of a new character—the American Character.