"When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and you argue about what to do about it only after you have had your technical success. That is the way it was with the atomic bomb." J. Robert Oppenheimer
@ai6yr Yes, this is exactly how it is.
@ai6yr Yes, I knew that story, but it was good to review.
My perspective is fundamentally different from Oppenheimer's because the Ivy Mike test took place 7 months before I was born. I grew up with terms like megadeaths and MAD. My city was ringed with nuclear tipped ABMs. I eventually got deep into the subject.
Throughout my career, a wall of my office sported a huge color poster of Castle Bravo. Some people were shocked. I would say good, you should be. Everyone should be. The more who are shocked and keep this in mind, the better the chances we don't do something stupid.
Oppenheimer faced the fresh realization of what man could do. I grew up with it, lived it. I respect the power but I don't fear it. If humans are stupid enough to ever engage in global nuclear war, so be it. It certainly won't be me "pushing the button" and there's nothing I can do to stop it. It doesn't bother me, but I can clearly see how someone in Oppenheimer's position would be severely affected emotionally.
On the other hand he should have also realized that development of that technology was inevitable.
