6 ms·
> Oppenheimer was dragged through the mud during the red scare and his name is still tarnished because of that. It is ironic and a little sad that he was awarde
by civilitty 3y ago
> Oppenheimer was dragged through the mud during the red scare and his name is still tarnished because of that. It is ironic and a little sad that he was awarded the Fermi medal once his name was finally cleared because Fermi worked for him during the Manhattan Project.
It's ironic to me that this is the first time I'm hearing that he was caught up in the red scare. I mean I'm no historian but apparently didn't tarnish his name all that much! :-)
- Loughla 3y agoIt absolutely did, for decades. I would argue that, until the movie, more people knew the name Fermi.
- lolinder 3y agoGoogle trends would disagree with you there [0]. Anecdotally, I've only ever heard the name Fermi in the phrase Fermi Paradox. Oppenheimer I know much more about, and I only know there's a movie about him because it's all over HN this month. I'm sure that the red scare did tarnish his name for decades, but it looks to me like those decades had ended by 2004 when Google's trends pick up. [0] https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=%2Fm%2F09qxy,%2Fm%2F02sdx&hl=en https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=%...
- bigger_cheese 3y agoOther way around for me "Fermion" "Fermi-Dirac Statistics" "Fermi Energy Level" etc. There are a lot of things in physics named after Fermi not aware of anything named after Oppenheimer.
- tedsanders 3y agoBorn-Oppenheimer approximation.
- regularfry 3y ago"Fermi estimation" has leaked out of physics into other areas too.
- hinkley 3y agoI lived just close enough to Fermilab that my exposure to both names was fairly even. Probably not true of most people though
- antod 3y agoSurely not. Oppenhiemer "creating" the Atomic Bomb is pretty widespread general knowledge. Nobody outside physics geeks has heard of Fermi. My context is from being outside of the US though.
- krapp 3y agoOppenheimer has an Epic Rap Battle of History, Fermi doesn't. Case closed.
- jjulius 3y ago>Nobody outside physics geeks has heard of Fermi. Plenty of folks who aren't physics geeks have heard of the Fermi Paradox. Source: Am not a physics geek.
- belowen 3y agoIt clearly depends on where do you live. In Italy, Fermi is mostly known, instead of Oppenheimer, as one of the creator of the atomic bomb. It feels like another Marconi/Bell case. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Panisperna_boys https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Panisperna_boys
- lifeonlars 3y agoI think this is actually evidence of what the poster above is referring to - the long-term effects of Oppenheimer being unfairly discredited. Fermi has streets, schools and subway stations named after him all over Italy. Oppenheimer doesn't (at least not to anywhere near the same extent), even in the US, because during the period when this might most likely have happened, towards the end of his life and shortly after his death, he was still widely regarded as being a traitor.
- None4U 3y agoAnyone who has ever pondered the existence of extraterrestrial life has heard of Fermi's paradox, while only history buffs interested in WWII or Japan or the Second Red Scare or alternatively science geeks interested in nuclear explosives have ever heard of J. Robert Oppenheimer.
- zoklet-enjoyer 3y agoThe movie as in this new one? Are you serious?
- rob74 3y agoHow can I save my little boy from Oppenheimer's deadly toy? Russians, Sting, 1985 -- so I would say Oppenheimer being the "inventor" of the atomic bomb was (literally) pop culture
- musiciangames 3y ago“In the Soviet Union, a scientist is blinded by the resumption of nuclear testing, and he is reminded that Dr. Robert Oppenheimer’s optimism fell at the first hurdle.” ‘Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards’, Billy Bragg 1988
- emmelaich 3y agoFor me it was absolutely Fermi. And Feynman and Teller. But Oppenheimer definitely up there. Oh also Leo fucking Szilard! From wikipedia ... > He conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, patented the idea in 1936, and in late 1939 wrote the letter for Albert Einstein's signature that resulted in the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb.
- Beldin 3y ago(Off topic) I thought Teller was the quiet one? ;-)
- JohnBooty 3y agoGenerally speaking, I don't believe anybody's name was permanently tarnished by the red scare, because it turned out to be such an utter farce of a witch hunt. But, at the time, it of course did derail careers and destroy lives.
- thordenmark 3y ago[flagged]
- nelox 3y agoI'm glad communists are in the good books now
- civilitty 3y agoMarvel and Lucas Films need to justify their acquisition cost.
- OO000oo 3y agoThe red scare ruined countless families' lives. It was an absolute atrocity and continues to undermine the interests of working Americans to this day.
- nerpderp82 3y agoIt is the reason union busting is "ok" and get such a bad rap.
- duped 3y agoJoseph McCarthy's name is thoroughly tarnished.
- cwillu 3y agoPolitical Officer: “And the seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a voice cried out from heaven, saying: "It is done." A man with your responsibilities reading about the end of the world. And what's this? "I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds."” Captain Ramius: “It is an ancient Hindu text, quoted by an American.” Political Officer: “An American?” Captain Ramius: “Mmm. He invented the atomic bomb. And was later accused of being a communist.” --The Hunt for Red October (1990 movie, not sure its in the book)
- askin4it 3y agoBattling narratives.... Public interest in his politics was relevant. He probably was a fellow traveler so what?