Over the weekend, the Oppenheimer family invited me to San Fransisco for the big film debut! If you haven’t seen the movie, you should: It’s big. With big ideas. A portrayal of the challenges faced by humanity during a tumultuous period in history. I think it was particularly heavy because it was released in 2023: On the heels of a pandemic, in the face of AI discovery, gene editing, space exploration, and during ongoing conversations around power, trust, and responsibility.
Thank you, Katelyn, for your reflections on the film. Thoughtful and thought-provoking, as always. You wrote "What is public investment in science for? To improve human connectedness." I would propose that public investment in science is to improve human *wellbeing*, which has many facets, including connectedness. Looking forward to seeing the film.
I like when you link public health issues to current events and discuss the ethical questions that are involved or that SHOULD be involved. I fear how the anger and extremism in public discourse has affected our political leaders and pulled them away from the science behind those issues.
"Public discourse" is being shaped if not controlled by major dgital Platforms. Good news; Platform immunity is eroding quickly. A Restatement of Digital Law is sorely needed although civil & minor criminal legislation has apppeared in 26 states.
They certainly mentioned the lives lost in Japan. And what it did to them. It was definitely missing the NM impact. As an epidemiologist, that was the first thing I noticed. I’ll try and pull the epi and cover in a post
Were there any studies (long or short term) done on the scientists, workers and their families who lived and worked at Los Alamos? Oppenheimer died at 62, yes he was a chain smoker and drinker. His wife died fairly early too.
Thanks for all that you do. I'm so glad you're being recognized for it. If only everyone cared as much about how poorly people are treated by the judicial system.
End of the pandemic? I have symptoms, found NO ONE does PCR tests where live in northern Indiana.Walgreen’s sends out of state. Also cost $128. Turnaround time 3-5 days plus transit. A senior with diabetes I should get treatment if I test positive. Won’t know within 5 days. “Nobody has COVID” HAH! (The Urgent Care I visited yesterday had seen 3cases that day)
I wish the news stations would continue to have scientists on to continue the conversation so that we aren’t only hearing from you in crisis modes. Dr. Hotez was roasted again for mentioning that the crowded movies might not help the uptick we are seeing. This is where we need the nuances! When/where/what is a crowded indoor setting. At what positivity would it benefit us to mask up? I detest all the hate. People are confused and while we aren’t in crisis mode, what mode are we in? Thank you as always for keeping us in the loop.
Wonderful commentary, but rather depressing. Here's why:
You wrote, "It takes a crisis to preform in this nation. The spirit and power of institutions can be grand when we put our minds to it. But do we always have to be reactive? We can proactively move at the speed and scale, too." When was the last time we had a real crisis AND the nation truly performed? It certainly wasn't the COVID-19 pandemic; it isn't the looming reality that Social Security will not be able to continue paying "full" benefits in a few years; and it certainly isn't whatever is going on with the climate. Why? It's just too easy for politicians to kick the can down the road and for voters to keep pulling the R or D tab with their brains turned off
No worries Jeff, you're good, Personal attacks on anyone will not be toletated by this 'Reader'. The Substack Inc Publisher Agreement was revised in 2023.
Please don't take this as a personal attack, but the impending problem with Social Security can be solved with the stroke of a pen. However, you are correct that we will have to go to the precipice before Congress considers the wrath of the people voting them out of office to outweigh the aversion to raising taxes.
Climate change, on the other hand, has no generally accepted "precipice moment." A slow-moving global disaster is the most difficult type of problem for mankind to address.
Complication and complexity are ever increasing in nearly all aspects of human existence. Therfore we are increasingly reliant on ever-narrowing areas of specialization and increasing expertise.
Trust and communication have to keep up. Experts need to be listened to and understood.
Excellent review. I just saw the movie. Don't see it at the IMax theater in great lakes shopping mall. The sound quality was teribble. My wife and I could only understand half of what people said. Definitely see the movie though, just not there.
Good discussion. Thank you for posting. I would like to see the movie, especially given that back in High School I did a research paper on the Manhattan Project including Oppenheimer and Leo Szilard, but I would rather wait for it to come out on a streaming service.
The discussion does remind me of a line out of another blockbuster sci-fi movie, Jurassic Park. The line was to the effect of, "You spent so much time asking if you could, when the real question is whether you should". A question that I believe is also relevant to virus "research."
Thanks for your article about the Oppenheimer movie. Now, please take your commitment to public health one step further: help prevent nuclear war. right now there are roughly 13,000 nuclear warheads controlled by 9 countries, even though the United Nations has made nuclear weapons illegal (Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons). The risk of nuclear war is growing because there are tensions among the nuclear nations. Russia has threatened to use them against Ukraine, and there are nuclear tensions between the US and China. It is virtually impossible to model deterrence in a 3 way "game". If or when deterrence fails, billions of people and countless animals will succumb immediately to blasts, burns, and radiation. Long term climate change due to soot in the atmosphere will disrupt the planet. Please expose the truth, that every single living species on earth is vulnerable to destruction in the event of nuclear war. There are specific steps that could be taken NOW by each country that would make everybody safer, and reduce the threat. See the Back from the Brink program: https://preventnuclearwar.org/. This is real, and now. Not just history. A nuclear holocaust can still be prevented. The American Public Health Association policy # 20209 on Oct 24 2020 calls for a "World Free of Nuclear Weapons." You can call this out too!
Well-written, as always. Great points. I am a retired pediatrician. Unfortunately I believe that humans generally will not learn to act proactively. Maybe not in our nature. But perhaps we can learn to use science for the betterment of humanity. It has worked many times...Vaccines! ... but greed and hatred are also so human. People like you are a big help. Keep it up. David Rinaldi
Looking forward to your take on Barbie. What Barbie and Oppenheimer may have in common is that when you move from dreamland to reality, you find ugliness, terror and a whole new set of unanticipated challenges. Success in meeting those challenges is not guaranteed.
Thank you, Katelyn, for your reflections on the film. Thoughtful and thought-provoking, as always. You wrote "What is public investment in science for? To improve human connectedness." I would propose that public investment in science is to improve human *wellbeing*, which has many facets, including connectedness. Looking forward to seeing the film.
I think you’re right! Love this adjustment in the framing
I like when you link public health issues to current events and discuss the ethical questions that are involved or that SHOULD be involved. I fear how the anger and extremism in public discourse has affected our political leaders and pulled them away from the science behind those issues.
"Public discourse" is being shaped if not controlled by major dgital Platforms. Good news; Platform immunity is eroding quickly. A Restatement of Digital Law is sorely needed although civil & minor criminal legislation has apppeared in 26 states.
The movie seems incomplete without mentioning what they did to Latinos in NM, as well as how many Japanese people died, etc.
They certainly mentioned the lives lost in Japan. And what it did to them. It was definitely missing the NM impact. As an epidemiologist, that was the first thing I noticed. I’ll try and pull the epi and cover in a post
Were there any studies (long or short term) done on the scientists, workers and their families who lived and worked at Los Alamos? Oppenheimer died at 62, yes he was a chain smoker and drinker. His wife died fairly early too.
Thanks for all that you do. I'm so glad you're being recognized for it. If only everyone cared as much about how poorly people are treated by the judicial system.
End of the pandemic? I have symptoms, found NO ONE does PCR tests where live in northern Indiana.Walgreen’s sends out of state. Also cost $128. Turnaround time 3-5 days plus transit. A senior with diabetes I should get treatment if I test positive. Won’t know within 5 days. “Nobody has COVID” HAH! (The Urgent Care I visited yesterday had seen 3cases that day)
Thank you, now I want to see the movie even more.
I wish the news stations would continue to have scientists on to continue the conversation so that we aren’t only hearing from you in crisis modes. Dr. Hotez was roasted again for mentioning that the crowded movies might not help the uptick we are seeing. This is where we need the nuances! When/where/what is a crowded indoor setting. At what positivity would it benefit us to mask up? I detest all the hate. People are confused and while we aren’t in crisis mode, what mode are we in? Thank you as always for keeping us in the loop.
We’re going to see it today! 👴🏻
Wonderful commentary, but rather depressing. Here's why:
You wrote, "It takes a crisis to preform in this nation. The spirit and power of institutions can be grand when we put our minds to it. But do we always have to be reactive? We can proactively move at the speed and scale, too." When was the last time we had a real crisis AND the nation truly performed? It certainly wasn't the COVID-19 pandemic; it isn't the looming reality that Social Security will not be able to continue paying "full" benefits in a few years; and it certainly isn't whatever is going on with the climate. Why? It's just too easy for politicians to kick the can down the road and for voters to keep pulling the R or D tab with their brains turned off
Let the attacks begin. :-).
No worries Jeff, you're good, Personal attacks on anyone will not be toletated by this 'Reader'. The Substack Inc Publisher Agreement was revised in 2023.
Thanks, Bryan :-)
Please don't take this as a personal attack, but the impending problem with Social Security can be solved with the stroke of a pen. However, you are correct that we will have to go to the precipice before Congress considers the wrath of the people voting them out of office to outweigh the aversion to raising taxes.
Climate change, on the other hand, has no generally accepted "precipice moment." A slow-moving global disaster is the most difficult type of problem for mankind to address.
Complication and complexity are ever increasing in nearly all aspects of human existence. Therfore we are increasingly reliant on ever-narrowing areas of specialization and increasing expertise.
Trust and communication have to keep up. Experts need to be listened to and understood.
Thanks for being a big part of the solution!
"It is the highest value to share your knowlege with anyone who is interested." Even how to make an atomic bomb?
Excellent review. I just saw the movie. Don't see it at the IMax theater in great lakes shopping mall. The sound quality was teribble. My wife and I could only understand half of what people said. Definitely see the movie though, just not there.
Good discussion. Thank you for posting. I would like to see the movie, especially given that back in High School I did a research paper on the Manhattan Project including Oppenheimer and Leo Szilard, but I would rather wait for it to come out on a streaming service.
The discussion does remind me of a line out of another blockbuster sci-fi movie, Jurassic Park. The line was to the effect of, "You spent so much time asking if you could, when the real question is whether you should". A question that I believe is also relevant to virus "research."
Thanks for your article about the Oppenheimer movie. Now, please take your commitment to public health one step further: help prevent nuclear war. right now there are roughly 13,000 nuclear warheads controlled by 9 countries, even though the United Nations has made nuclear weapons illegal (Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons). The risk of nuclear war is growing because there are tensions among the nuclear nations. Russia has threatened to use them against Ukraine, and there are nuclear tensions between the US and China. It is virtually impossible to model deterrence in a 3 way "game". If or when deterrence fails, billions of people and countless animals will succumb immediately to blasts, burns, and radiation. Long term climate change due to soot in the atmosphere will disrupt the planet. Please expose the truth, that every single living species on earth is vulnerable to destruction in the event of nuclear war. There are specific steps that could be taken NOW by each country that would make everybody safer, and reduce the threat. See the Back from the Brink program: https://preventnuclearwar.org/. This is real, and now. Not just history. A nuclear holocaust can still be prevented. The American Public Health Association policy # 20209 on Oct 24 2020 calls for a "World Free of Nuclear Weapons." You can call this out too!
For those who did not see the movie, the movie pretty much follows the Wikipedia report on Oppenheimer.
Well-written, as always. Great points. I am a retired pediatrician. Unfortunately I believe that humans generally will not learn to act proactively. Maybe not in our nature. But perhaps we can learn to use science for the betterment of humanity. It has worked many times...Vaccines! ... but greed and hatred are also so human. People like you are a big help. Keep it up. David Rinaldi
Looking forward to your take on Barbie. What Barbie and Oppenheimer may have in common is that when you move from dreamland to reality, you find ugliness, terror and a whole new set of unanticipated challenges. Success in meeting those challenges is not guaranteed.
I was just kidding, but maybe it is worth a post!