![]() ![]() At the time of Oppenheimer’s appeal hearing, the quest for a deployable H-bomb was a high priority for US presidents and generals. The US achieved this in 1960, followed one year later by the USSR. Western governments knew that Russian scientists were working feverishly on nuclear fusion, but no one knew how to make a weapon small enough for delivery to a target. What was the nuclear balance of power in 1954? All the A-bombs in the world were held by three nations: 2,000 by the US, 200 by the USSR, and a dozen by the UK. It was nine years after the bombs were dropped on Japan, two years after the first successful test of the “Super,” the hydrogen bomb. It is the scene where Oppenheimer challenges the denial of his security clearance in 1954. Here I will focus not on broad questions such as these but on a brief scene in which the characters’ questions and their answers, taken in context, tell us something important about what it means to be moral. Is our curiosity, he asks, a virtue or a vice? Are there things we should not know, or even want to know? The film invites us to reflect on these perplexing questions. In his August 8 blog posting, Scott Hoezee invited Reformed Journal readers to ponder the burdens of learning the secrets of the atom. But the eminent actors he brought together for the project form an extraordinary ensemble cast. ![]() Some of his trademarks in the sci-fi action films for which he is best known are present here, such as confusing jumps back and forth in time and dialogue nearly obscured by ominous music. Unpacking a critical episode in modern history, director Christopher Nolan stays close to his source, a highly regarded biography. In Oppenheimer’s complex but probing exploration of world-changing events of the last century, its stunning visual presentation, and the depth of the actors’ portrayals of the creators of the atomic bomb, the film is a tour de force. Recently a drive-in theater nearby – yes, there is still one in operation – announced a “Barbenheimer” five-hour double feature that you can view from the comfort of your car beginning at 9:30pm. A similar illusion also occurs with two frequencies arbitrarily chosen from within this octave range.By now everyone in North America has seen the hype and read enthusiastic reviews of the two films. The remaining 38% reported a variety of percepts, but no listener perceived the stimulus correctly. Another 14% of the listeners obtained the same illusion but with the high pitch consistently localized in the left ear. Two listeners with absolute pitch identified the alternating pitches as G 4 (392 Hz) and G 5 (784 Hz). ![]() When the identical sequence was again presented but with earphones reversed, these listeners reported the identical percept with the higher pitch still localized in the right ear. Under these conditions 48% of 42 right‐handed listeners perceived a single tone oscillating from ear to ear whose pitch also oscillated from one octave to the other in synchrony with the localization shift and with the higher pitch localized in the right ear. However, when one ear received 800 Hz, the other received 400 Hz and vice versa. This sequence of alternating tones presented at equal amplitude to both ears simultaneously for 20 sec. All tones were either 400 or 800 Hz, and these frequencies were presented in strict alternation. Listeners were presented with a sequence of sinusoidal tones, each tone 250 msec in duration and with no gap between adjacent tones. ![]()
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