Robert Oppenheimer

Robert Oppenheimer is considered to be the "father of the atom bomb". Many other people were a part of the Manhattan Project, but he was the pivotal figure. This clip is of him speaking about the day he saw the first atomic bomb detonated during a test in New Mexico. After World War II he became the head of the United States Atomic Energy Commission and he used this position to speak out against the use of nuclear weapons. I think his remorse is heartbreakingly evident in this video. His efforts helped to end the war, but at what cost? The point of science is to better understand our surrounding environment. It is not concerned with how the information it gathers is put to use, just that a result is obtained. Science is blind in this way. Ethics are not really factored in. I think, and I am pretty sure Mr. Vonnegut would agree, that ethics should impose more upon scientific discovery.

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 World"

I suppose we all thought that, one way or another