nostr:npub1pt6l3a97fvywrxdlr7j0q8j2klwntng35c40cuhj2xmsxmz696uqfr6mf6 I find it very interesting that nuclear weapons somehow seem to be the one thing in all of history that has universally caused humans who are opposed to each other to cooperate, even though they don't have a proper guarantee that the other actors will act with the same faith they do. Even the most deranged people refuse to turn the world into ashes. I wonder how long it will last.
nostr:npub1g0uss0sjsgxwmhqxgnvlj0zv9ru89xwfyktkcjc0kgy8syxj79ss383vfw Because it’s too easy. The power of an atomic blast is so often compared to that of the stars, the heavens, the gods - right down to the name of the first detonation test, “Trinity.” Oppenheimer’s famous quote about becoming “death, destroyer of worlds,” is quoted from the words of Shiva the Destroyer in the Baghavad Gita iirc. The movie is based on a book, American Prometheus, and Prometheus *stole* fire to give to humans - he didn’t create it. The sense that it’s a “trick” comes from the feeling that this great power wasn’t meant for us, that we are “cheating” the universe, that we are tresspassing the domain of God
Discussion
nostr:npub1g0uss0sjsgxwmhqxgnvlj0zv9ru89xwfyktkcjc0kgy8syxj79ss383vfw nostr:npub1pt6l3a97fvywrxdlr7j0q8j2klwntng35c40cuhj2xmsxmz696uqfr6mf6
> even though they don't have a proper guarantee that the other actors will act with the same faith they do
wdym? if the opponent breaks the pact you can retaliate on your way out. it's achieved near universal cooperation because it's the strongest guarantee of mutually assured destruction yet discovered. just basic game theory
it will fail the instant any truly suicidal group takes the helm
nostr:npub1g0uss0sjsgxwmhqxgnvlj0zv9ru89xwfyktkcjc0kgy8syxj79ss383vfw Before the Trinity test, there was a concern thar nuclear fission was so powerful that it could ignite the whole atmosphere. Theory predicted it was very unlikely, but that was all. When those scientists at Los Alamos did the test, they knew full well that there was a slim chance they would end the world right then and there. But they pushed the button anyways.
So I think there are two sides to this coin. They had to be willing to reduce the world to ashes in order to usher us in to this strange new era of nuclear peace.
This is another thing which the movie portrays well. At least, it rightfully emphasizes it.
One thing that didn’t make the cut, but I wish it did, was how Fermi dropped some shredded paper during the blast and watched how far the wind blew them in order to estimate the megaton yield.