What a strange circle of coincidence I just had. Just last week I wrote a piece for an online book group about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Bhagavad Gita. And then just this weekend I found myself in the Exploratorium -- that most wonderful (and first) of hands-on science museums, which was created by Robert's brother Frank. Reflecting on this coincidence, I realize how much these two brothers have influenced my life.
I first visited the Exploratorium as a teenager -- I was maybe 14 or so. Already a died-in-the-wool geekchick, I loved it. I was all about bringing science to the people (that was the Carl Sagan influence, but that's another article), and this place just blew me away. I already understood many of the concepts, but I loved the way they made them so accessible. It was a formative moment in my life. Without doubt, knowing how accessible science could be helped me in my future career as a park ranger and science educator.
That being the 1980's, of course I was also concerned with the idea of nuclear holocaust. Reading about nuclear winter (again, thanks to Carl) got me interested in the history of the bomb itself. Enter J. Robert, or Oppie. From the moment I first saw a photo of his penetrating, haunting gaze, I felt strangely compelled. I watched documentaries, I read books, I ate up whatever I could about the Manhattan Project. And what really captured me was not the science part; it was the tragedy of Oppie himself. That he was conflicted even as he participated in the Project, and that he was further tormented and persecuted afterward. That he was an avid reader of the Gita also caught me -- and of course I promptly read it.
It's difficult to put into words exactly how this affected me and the course of my life, but it did. Maybe it just gave me a deeper, non-Western philosophical bent. One that has only grown through time; today I most closely identify with Hinduism over other religions. This worldview influences the way I think about everything. I might have found this path anyhow, but I know Oppie cemented it.
In my readings about Oppie and the Manhattan Project, I learned that Frank Oppenheimer was the founder of my beloved Exploratorium. What a wonderful bit of synergy! The Exploratorium connected me to Frank which connected me to Oppie. To feel such a strange, if indirect, connection was a tad profound. (This was before Six Degrees of Separation was a common thing).
Flash forward about 20 years. I find myself reading the Mahabharata, of with the Bhagavad Gita is a part. So I write a discussion topic about it and Oppie. In a matter of days, I am in the Exploratorium, watching my own children eat it up as Frank envisioned. And finally, in the giftshop, I found a biography of the in-the-shadows Oppenheimer brother. I can't wait to read it (though I still have a lot of Maha to go.....).
So what's the point of this article? I don't know. Just an homage to the Oppenheimer brothers, I guess. They and Carl form my Trinity of Science Gurus.
If you would like to learn more, I highly recommend the following:
"The Day after Trinity," a documentary film
"The Making of the Atomic Bomb" by Richard Rhodes
"American Prometheus" by Kai Bird
"Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens" by KC Cole (this is the one I just bought, but it looks like it'll be good)
No comments:
Post a Comment