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The Open Mind
Eight lectures by J. Robert Oppenheimer, given between 1946 and 1955. Four of the lectures deal with atomic weapons, including the 1946 report on atomic explosives.
146 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1955
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About the author
J. Robert Oppenheimer
41 books159 followersJulius Robert Oppenheimer (April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist and professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. He is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project, the World War II project that developed the first nuclear weapons. The first atomic bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945 in the Trinity test in New Mexico; Oppenheimer remarked later that it brought to mind words from the Bhagavad Gita: "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."
After the war he became a chief adviser to the newly created United States Atomic Energy Commission and used that position to lobby for international control of nuclear power to avert nuclear proliferation and an arms race with the Soviet Union. After provoking the ire of many politicians with his outspoken opinions during the Second Red Scare, he had his security clearance revoked in a much-publicized hearing in 1954. Though stripped of his direct political influence he continued to lecture, write and work in physics. A decade later President John F. Kennedy awarded (and Lyndon B. Johnson presented) him with the Enrico Fermi Award as a gesture of political rehabilitation.
Oppenheimer's notable achievements in physics include the Born–Oppenheimer approximation for molecular wavefunctions, work on the theory of electrons and positrons, the Oppenheimer–Phillips process in nuclear fusion, and the first prediction of quantum tunneling. With his students he also made important contributions to the modern theory of neutron stars and black holes, as well as to quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, and the interactions of cosmic rays. As a teacher and promoter of science, he is remembered as a founding father of the American school of theoretical physics that gained world prominence in the 1930s. After World War II, he became director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.
After the war he became a chief adviser to the newly created United States Atomic Energy Commission and used that position to lobby for international control of nuclear power to avert nuclear proliferation and an arms race with the Soviet Union. After provoking the ire of many politicians with his outspoken opinions during the Second Red Scare, he had his security clearance revoked in a much-publicized hearing in 1954. Though stripped of his direct political influence he continued to lecture, write and work in physics. A decade later President John F. Kennedy awarded (and Lyndon B. Johnson presented) him with the Enrico Fermi Award as a gesture of political rehabilitation.
Oppenheimer's notable achievements in physics include the Born–Oppenheimer approximation for molecular wavefunctions, work on the theory of electrons and positrons, the Oppenheimer–Phillips process in nuclear fusion, and the first prediction of quantum tunneling. With his students he also made important contributions to the modern theory of neutron stars and black holes, as well as to quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, and the interactions of cosmic rays. As a teacher and promoter of science, he is remembered as a founding father of the American school of theoretical physics that gained world prominence in the 1930s. After World War II, he became director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 25, 2021
can't believe how frightfully aware they were of the dangers and yet they went ahead with it
October 2, 2017
This is a collection of speeches Oppenheimer gave in the late '40's and early '50's. I read about this book in an Oppenheimer biography I finished recently. Oppie was renowned as a gifted extemporaneous speaker, and I was hoping his flair would be reflected in these lectures, but it wasn't. The subject matter was either on the state of the US and its nuclear capacity, or else it was generic observations about the value of science. Disappointed.
March 22, 2023
“The political vitality of our country largely derives from two sources. One is the interplay, the conflict of opinion and debate, in many diverse and complex agencies, legislative and executive, which contribute to the making of policy. The other is a public opinion which is based on confidence that it knows the truth.”
October 6, 2023
Um livro de palestras feitas pelo autor em diversas ocasiões durante a segunda metade da década de 40 e a década de 50, acerca de temas como as políticas de armamento atômico e o papel da ciência e dos cientistas na sociedade. Uma leitura tranquila, embora tenha alguns momentos de blablabla físico que pode incomodar alguns leitores.
February 21, 2025
In these works Oppenheimer displays an unbelievable level of intellectual and spiritual sophistication. I will be rereading especially the final essay - "Prospects in the Arts and Sciences" - often.
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April 26, 2023It's hard to review books like this, because it's hard to choose by what metric to judge them. The 146 pages of The Open Mind are a collection of eight speeches written and delivered over a period of eight years at various events and assemblages across America. So, with that in mind, I will try to be as honest and succinct as possible, two things Mr. Oppenheimer struggled to be in this book.
As far as the writing, Oppenheimer was an intelligent and well-learned man, but saw no reason to use three words when twenty-seven would suffice. I cannot begin to imagine what it must have been like for people to sit through these speeches as he delivered them. They are intimidatingly long and nothing even approximating engaging. I enjoy dry literature; history, straight-forward reportage of facts and information, but this left me struggling to stay focused. He took forever to get to the point (if he ever got there at all) and spoke at length in circles.
This but that, yet this, but that, that but also this, this but that, this but that, this but that.
There is also very little information or ground covered over the course of these eight speeches. If you imagine the sequential speeches as a long chain of Venn Diagrams; eight large large circles strung in a line with a slight overlap shared by neighbors, these speeches were the opposite of that. There is major overlap of neighboring circles with little singular space on the extreme right and left of the two. However, being that this is a chain, that slight open space is overtaken by linking with the next circle in line. In short, there is major overlap in the content of each speech, to the point that reading the speeches in order gives you such an extreme sense of déjà vu that you question how long you've been reading the same piece.
There is also a strange, pulled-punch sense of doom and gloom emanating from Oppenheimer. Any dim glimmer of hope he shines on the subjects of science, society, the future or all three, is immediately offset with a strange non-sequitur of paranoia and despair that is left at the feet of the audience to answer for themselves. Going into this book, I didn't expect it to be uplifting, but I also didn't expect it to be so smirkingly and deceptively defeatist either.
The most interesting or insightful part of this book is the story told between the lines of these speeches. Presented in chronological order, Oppenheimer discusses (though largely obliquely) the rising Cold War and the burgeoning arms race between the US and Soviet Union. The insecurity and fear about America's place as an atomic superpower and it's ability to fight off an atomic attack if one ever comes at all. Mostly, though, Oppenheimer sums it by saying, we're screwed, deal with it. Not in so many words, of course. Still, he punctuates any information or perspective he shares about the Soviet Union's atomic capabilities with something akin to a child's sing-song, "I know something you don't know."
I don't really know who this book is for. I suppose it's better we have a collection of Opppenheimer's writing than not, but I can't think of anything that would be gained by reading it. I was not enlightened. I was not entertained. If I had to compare it to any other work, it would be The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard (who died a mere four years after The Open Mind was published). One man's struggle to unburden himself from the responsibility of a terrible and irreversible act, going to such lengths that he constantly pleads his case, reminding people that he's responsible for it, the interest and attention of his audience be damned.
All in all, I did learn some things but they were very few in number. Though I suppose I did gain some insight into Julius Robert Oppenheimer and who he was as person.
He was company man. Plain and simple.
As far as the writing, Oppenheimer was an intelligent and well-learned man, but saw no reason to use three words when twenty-seven would suffice. I cannot begin to imagine what it must have been like for people to sit through these speeches as he delivered them. They are intimidatingly long and nothing even approximating engaging. I enjoy dry literature; history, straight-forward reportage of facts and information, but this left me struggling to stay focused. He took forever to get to the point (if he ever got there at all) and spoke at length in circles.
This but that, yet this, but that, that but also this, this but that, this but that, this but that.
There is also very little information or ground covered over the course of these eight speeches. If you imagine the sequential speeches as a long chain of Venn Diagrams; eight large large circles strung in a line with a slight overlap shared by neighbors, these speeches were the opposite of that. There is major overlap of neighboring circles with little singular space on the extreme right and left of the two. However, being that this is a chain, that slight open space is overtaken by linking with the next circle in line. In short, there is major overlap in the content of each speech, to the point that reading the speeches in order gives you such an extreme sense of déjà vu that you question how long you've been reading the same piece.
There is also a strange, pulled-punch sense of doom and gloom emanating from Oppenheimer. Any dim glimmer of hope he shines on the subjects of science, society, the future or all three, is immediately offset with a strange non-sequitur of paranoia and despair that is left at the feet of the audience to answer for themselves. Going into this book, I didn't expect it to be uplifting, but I also didn't expect it to be so smirkingly and deceptively defeatist either.
The most interesting or insightful part of this book is the story told between the lines of these speeches. Presented in chronological order, Oppenheimer discusses (though largely obliquely) the rising Cold War and the burgeoning arms race between the US and Soviet Union. The insecurity and fear about America's place as an atomic superpower and it's ability to fight off an atomic attack if one ever comes at all. Mostly, though, Oppenheimer sums it by saying, we're screwed, deal with it. Not in so many words, of course. Still, he punctuates any information or perspective he shares about the Soviet Union's atomic capabilities with something akin to a child's sing-song, "I know something you don't know."
I don't really know who this book is for. I suppose it's better we have a collection of Opppenheimer's writing than not, but I can't think of anything that would be gained by reading it. I was not enlightened. I was not entertained. If I had to compare it to any other work, it would be The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard (who died a mere four years after The Open Mind was published). One man's struggle to unburden himself from the responsibility of a terrible and irreversible act, going to such lengths that he constantly pleads his case, reminding people that he's responsible for it, the interest and attention of his audience be damned.
All in all, I did learn some things but they were very few in number. Though I suppose I did gain some insight into Julius Robert Oppenheimer and who he was as person.
He was company man. Plain and simple.
Read
June 29, 2009Interesting collection of Oppenheimer's speeches. All of the pieces in here are non-technical since they were written to express his views on issues of government policy as related to atomic technologies and public interest.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews