More About Oppenheimer

J. Robert Oppenheimer was present at the creation of the quantum mechanics paradigm in physics. Together with relativity, the new quantum theory radically changed the way we understand the universe. The scientific revolution in physics lead that field to become the queen of the sciences in the popular imagination, and to the period of unequally prestige for physicists. Oppenheimer created the most important center for theoretical physics training in the United States at Berkeley, which helped the United States become the world leader in the field, rather than the backwater he found as a student. He then lead the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, which was the most prestigious scientific institution in the United States.

He headed the team that conceptualized how the atom bomb was to be created, which in turn spun off the development of the hydrogen bomb. In that role he was in a central position in the program that transformed popular and political opinion of the importance of science, since the physicists and engineers who collaborated on the bombs transformed theoretical physics into applications of huge visible impact in a extremely short period of time.

He then lead in the debate about how atomic energy should be developed, and in the development of the scientific advisory role to government.

Thus he was involved at the creation of an important scientific paradigm. He was involved at the creation of a new paradigm in the way the public thought of science. He was involved in the creation of a new paradigm in the way in which scientific knowledge systems interacted with political knowledge systems in the United States(and thus worldwide). This trajectory makes Oppenheimer a fascinating vehicle for the consideration of revolutionary change in knowledge systems.

It is interesting to think of his personal transformation. Apparently he was in a fairly desperate mental state as a young foreign student at Cambridge, studying experimental physics for which he had little aptitude. He ended his career as a charismatic leader, loved by many, and widely respected for his charm and erudition. One wonders whether today's society is less forgiving, and if so how many potential Oppenheimers are being withered by social condemnation in their youths.