The explosion of an experimental nuclear bomb in New Mexico in 1945 made it blindingly clear that the Industrial Age was over.  This event showed with terrifying clarity that scientific knowledge, mathematical skill, and engineering prowess can be used for unthinkable levels of destruction.  The combined wonder and terror of this culmination of the Manhattan Project prompted its leader, J. Robert Oppenheimer, to remark: "I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."  Intended or not, this line from Hindu sacred text (the Bhagavad-Gita) gave the event an appropriately sinister footnote.  Most significantly, Albert Einstein remarked: "The release of atomic power has changed everything except our way of thinking[.] ... [T]he solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind." I'm sure I was not the only youngster whose mind that day was dramatically reset regarding the meaning of...(Read Full Post)