5 ms·

Am I missing something? Are there details or is that all there is?

tobinfricke 3y ago
Yes, it seems to be just a simple anecdote. I think the author's father is this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_M._Watson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_M._Watson
- OldGuyInTheClub 3y ago
  Sounds likely but I also don't get the subheadline "Oppenheimer and Edward Teller hired my Dad at the Berkeley Physics Department." The elder Watson could have met Oppenheimer at the Institute for Advanced Study in 1947-48 when a fellow there. But Oppenheimer was long gone from Berkeley when Watson became a faculty member in 1957. Anyway, this comment is almost longer than the article so I'll stop here.
  - mark_l_watson 3y ago
    I will be staying with my Dad next week, so I can ask him more details. My understanding from my Dad was that both Oppenheimer and Teller facilitated my Dad getting the job at Berkeley.
    - OldGuyInTheClub 3y ago
      I can understand that a recommendation from either or both would have been taken very seriously by Berkeley. Teller was certainly on the roster at the time while getting Livermore going. Your wording made it seem like Oppenheimer was "on prem". I knew Teller late in his life (80s+). Mans had stage presence.
elastic_throe 3y ago
Title Said it All.
mark_l_watson 3y ago
I just wrote that blog because I liked the story my Dad told me right before my wife and I went to see the movie. As people here have said, no big deal. EDIT: my Dad’s girlfriend has asked me to write a biography on my Dad, but I have resisted that. So many of his stories about his life and people he has worked with seem personal and private to me.
- OldGuyInTheClub 3y ago
  Did your father overlap with Freeman Dyson who was at the IAS around the same time (1948)? Or perhaps through JASON?[0] If so, did he attend the Dyson lecture series on QED? I hope that would be a sufficiently professional topic to be able to relay here. According to Dyson, he gave five lectures in all and Oppenheimer fought him beak and claw until he (Oppenheimer) had to concede. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn0XpyR_sLg&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFzDA6mtmKQEgWfcIu49J4nN&index=68 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn0XpyR_sLg&list=PLVV0r6CmEs... et.seq.

Yes, it seems to be just a simple anecdote. I think the author's father is this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_M._Watson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_M._Watson

OldGuyInTheClub 3y ago
Sounds likely but I also don't get the subheadline "Oppenheimer and Edward Teller hired my Dad at the Berkeley Physics Department." The elder Watson could have met Oppenheimer at the Institute for Advanced Study in 1947-48 when a fellow there. But Oppenheimer was long gone from Berkeley when Watson became a faculty member in 1957. Anyway, this comment is almost longer than the article so I'll stop here.
- mark_l_watson 3y ago
  I will be staying with my Dad next week, so I can ask him more details. My understanding from my Dad was that both Oppenheimer and Teller facilitated my Dad getting the job at Berkeley.
  - OldGuyInTheClub 3y ago
    I can understand that a recommendation from either or both would have been taken very seriously by Berkeley. Teller was certainly on the roster at the time while getting Livermore going. Your wording made it seem like Oppenheimer was "on prem". I knew Teller late in his life (80s+). Mans had stage presence.

elastic_throe 3y ago

Title Said it All.

mark_l_watson 3y ago

I just wrote that blog because I liked the story my Dad told me right before my wife and I went to see the movie. As people here have said, no big deal. EDIT: my Dad’s girlfriend has asked me to write a biography on my Dad, but I have resisted that. So many of his stories about his life and people he has worked with seem personal and private to me.

OldGuyInTheClub 3y ago
Did your father overlap with Freeman Dyson who was at the IAS around the same time (1948)? Or perhaps through JASON?[0] If so, did he attend the Dyson lecture series on QED? I hope that would be a sufficiently professional topic to be able to relay here. According to Dyson, he gave five lectures in all and Oppenheimer fought him beak and claw until he (Oppenheimer) had to concede. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn0XpyR_sLg&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFzDA6mtmKQEgWfcIu49J4nN&index=68 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn0XpyR_sLg&list=PLVV0r6CmEs... et.seq.