Unleashed Knowledge
Navigating the Impact of Science and Leadership
My father graduated from MIT with an associate’s degree in metallurgy. His first Job out of school was photographing cattle slaughter for what passed as the FDA. After one week on the job, he was approached by two men in long black coats who said they had a job for him. The way he described it, it was not so much an offer as a mandate. He could not tell his new wife where he was going and what he was doing.
My mother thought for sure he was having second thoughts about the marriage when he explained he needed to go away for several months to work on a secret government project. She was not satisfied until he produced a letter from the government.
He never talked about his work at Los Alamo, except to say they had a betting pool (jokingly) about whether or not the bomb would ignite the atmosphere. I also recall a conversation where we discussed particle physics (he was able to dumb it down for me) and his reluctance to accept the emerging science. One day, when five-year-old me was scurrying around the house doing five-year-old stuff, he stopped me on the basement stairs as he was coming down with another man. He said Biran, this is Mr Teller. Shake his hand. He will be famous one day.
Famous or infamous is for you to decide. I know that not everyone associated with the Manhattan Project was there because of a clear choice. In the name of national security, the US was hiring anyone with any knowledge of metallurgy and or nuclear physics to put them beyond the reach of foreign governments,
I have read the government’s detailed accounts of the bombings. I have watched and read everything I could find about the Manhattan Project going back to its roots in Tuxedo Park, NY. I even researched the Manhattan Website for an image of my father. There was none. But I do have proof he was involved; he died at age 52 due to “surgical complications.” It was more likely his exposure to radiation, like many associated with the Manhattan Project.
I’m not blaming anyone; when the science genie comes out of the bottle, there’s no putting it back. Just like AI, Bitcoin blockchain, and many more to come discoveries. What we do with these technologies matters. Technology is not to blame for the adverse effects of the humans that direct it any more than it can be praised for the positive outcomes. We must have intelligent, compassionate, and strong leadership to keep us from a self-destructive cycle of oblivion. But this does not mean we can abandon our individual responsibilities as followers. We must be a guiding conscience for our leaders.
Government overreach can and will lead to a dead world.
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” IKE