Oppenheimer – The American Prometheus

“We thought of the legend of Prometheus, of that deep sense of guilt in mans new powers, that reflects his recognition of evil, and his long knowledge of it.” – J. Robert Oppenheimer

America’s prometheus – The Manhattan Project was like no other before it.  Intelligent engineers and scientists recruited from across the United States, all working to develop one of the deadliest weapon in world history. Yet, not any two had any idea what was going on simultaneously. No one realized what was happening, except for one man – J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer’s life is very interesting. Equal parts genius and tragic character. On the one hand Oppenheimer was truly brilliant. Uniquely gifted with the ability to see solutions where everyone saw problems. He was an effective manager, capable of running a massive organization single handedly. His intellect was also impressive, Oppenheimer could break down extremely complex equations with seeming ease.

Then there’s the tragic character. At first Oppenheimer was a believer in the righteousness of his cause. He knew full well what sort of destruction his weapon could wreak, but he believed, ‘the end justifies the means’. It was necessary for national defense. Lives would be saved and the nation would be safer as a result. Besides, if the US didn’t do it, then someone else would, he would reason. For Oppenheimer there was a disconnect between science and morality. He never seriously considered the effects of what his creation would have on the world.

Genius. Tragic character. Some have compared him to a modern day Hamlet. Seeing the wrong around him, but unwilling or unable to act. I disagree. I think he’s more of a Macbeth.

I mention all of this because I recently saw that Christopher Nolan has directed a new biopic on Oppenheimer. Nolan always does good work and I might watch it. But the film aside, I was prompted to talk about this enigmatic person. I think there’s a lesson to be learned here.

The atom bomb changed our world forever. We’re still feeling its effects today, maybe more than ever. Humanity had never had such power, the power to raze an entire city. Had previous generations seen this, they would’ve watched in awe and dread, thinking that we had the power of gods. Now we have chemical weapons, hydrogen bombs, and nuclear weapons. For the most part we have Oppenheimer to thank for that. (Though to be fair the blame doesn’t rest solely with him.)

Here’s what makes him such a tragic character, why I think of him as a Macbeth. Oppenheimer foolishly believed that once the world saw the power of the atom bomb, that the arms race would begin to de-escalate and that atomic energy would be used for the benefit of humanity, rather than its destruction. Oppenheimer was fascinated by all the various civilian applications, always coming up with ideas to use atomic energy to help power cities and whatnot. This was not a sadistic individual, morbidly imagining the deaths of millions. He truly believed that he was helping the world.

In a scene of dark irony, when the first atom bomb was dropped here’s what Oppnehiemer had to say, he quoted form the Bhagavad Gita; “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” Of all the things to say.

Oppenheimer refused to ever join the council to disband atomic weapons. Albert Einstein did. It was Einsteins equation, e=mc squared squared that set the foundation. Einstein was asked how World War 3 would be fought and he replied he didn’t know, but he did know what World War 4 would be fought with. Rocks. Einstein and Oppenheimer were mutual friends. They had multiple conversations on the very issue of atomic bombs. Einstein regretted that it was his research that made the bomb possible, accepting a sort of social responsibility for what he did. To his dying day Oppenheimer refusing to decry his efforts with developing the atom bomb.

It was strange. Oppenheimer opposed dropping a bomb on Hiroshima, saying he thought it was unnecessary. He vehemently opposed development of the H-bomb, refusing to lend his efforts. But he never could bring himself to say anything against the atom bomb. Surely he realized all of this was because of the atom bomb? He actually defended the development on multiple occasions. When it came to escalation that’s where Oppenheimer balked. It was as if Oppenheimer was torn; on the one hand knowing his work had lead to such destruction, but refusing to acknowledge it. There are some people who won’t admit an issue exists, locked in the delusion that if they don’t admit it, then the problem doesn’t exist.