August 2023

Oppenheimer was just doing his Job! [so was Nolan]

Oppenheimer (the film) was artistically beautiful… But watching it, I mostly thought about work.

Oppenheimer (the scientist) was just doing his work. In a sense, he was morally detached from the work, even though some explanations (Nazi Germany is developing the bomb, 20K (40K, 80K, 120K) US soldiers might die invading japan,…) were given. The explanation in fact are weak, and probably only serve to strengthen the case that he was morally detached. His opposition to the H-bomb (and loyalty to the existing nuclear bomb technology - “his”) could probably be explained in the same light.

Christopher Nolan (the director) in the same sense, was just doing a job. He didn’t give a lot of attention to the moral implications of the film, so the victims didn’t need to be featured (out of respect for them?), and a deeper examination of conscience wasn’t needed. This gray stance is probably important for the film’s success.

I’ve included a few comments in this Twitter thread :

https://twitter.com/_AhmadHijazi/status/1684225191763738627?s=20

Summarized by the other (wiser) Dr. Manhattan:

Quote of the Month :

"The incompleteness of our knowledge is often addressed with different extrapolations and assumptions, sacrificing precision for ease, and reflecting the self onto the world. This is not always bad, but it can – easily – become tricky."

(Approximations, Big Ideas, and Small Perspectives [Prologue]. Fuzzy on the Dark Side)

https://ahijazi.website/fuzzy-on-the-dark-side-approximate-thinking/