Verbena Giambastiani
Visiting Research Fellow, CAPPE
The atomic bomb as a paradigm of the difference between traditional and modern technology
5pm on Monday 18 January, Pavilion Parade (room to be confirmed)
Abstract:
I want quite generally to deepen our understanding of the difference between the older mechanical crafts and modern “high-tech” technologies (such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, etc.). In this talk, I shall focus on one aspect of this.
While the nature of both older and contemporary technology is clearly instrumental, it seems that, while older technologies had to submit to the standards set by nature, contemporary technologies can themselves set the standards of the possible. The brutality of the nuclear bombs at the end of the WWII is a paradigmatic example.
