Stone South Wind - IX

A Journey to the Beginning

8

Washington University at St. Louis

“Rationalistic optimism” is the view that there are no mathematical questions that the human mind is incapable of settling, in principle at any rate, even if this is not so in practice( say, to the occurrence of the heat death of the universe). In a striking observation about the implications of his incompleteness result, Gödel said...

Computability: Turing, Gödel, Church, and Beyond

Eluding something as vague as rationalistic optimism: Masters was completed, in Washington University, my main professor called them into his room – which was small and built quickly out of temporary slabs. He did not look down even as I sat in the only chair which was not covered with notes, papers, and journals. One by one with his right hand he was grading papers, but he was aware of my existence and started directly: “Do you know about politics?”

“No, I have even been down to the political science area in my time here.”

“You may not have heard that the war in Europe and in Asia is going to sweep America to a battle-ready sense.”

“I have heard that much.”

“Then you have a sharp choice, close the door and we can speak about it. This is not something that everyone should hear – in fact, we are not having this conversation, on the record.”

“What is this about? You have never been secretive before.”

“That is because I received a phone call – from a source inside the War Department. And you have a simple choice – and one of them is not signing up for military service.”

“What are you suggesting ?”

“My secret: there to be a project, and its object is to build a bomb which is several times, several thousand times, as lethal as any other.”

“That would have to use atomic power, and no one has any idea of how to do that – we heard rumors of an atomic pile, but that is small.”

“The atomic pile was built in Illinois, and actually it may just achieve the goal of self-contained fission. 1 atom will split, triggering 2 more – and so on. Eventually, they plan to achieve criticality - The atoms can only be of 2 kinds – U235 and one of the plutonium atoms, I am sorry I do not know which one it is. That will cause a chain reaction – though they have not yet done so. It is, however, a matter of engineering.”

“Do you want me to work on this project?”

“Actually, no. But the other choice is to take a job as a physicist with Winchester Repeating Arms – solving whatever problems they are getting into. Between you and me, they not that bright. I was hoping that you would step in.”

“I can see why you are saying we’re not having this conversation – a lot of people from that lab were recruiting diligently.”

“With the bomb project, they need to find as many bright physicists and chemists. Because going into uranium or plutonium is a ticket to wall-to-wall employment.”

“But, I am not interested in the heavy elements.”

“Or the physics involved in that. You dream of inventing an X-ray microscope – even though I say it will not happen. I know, which is why I think I can get you into the lab – and make improvements almost immediately.”

“Are you sure about this ?”

“No, but I am reasonably sure. And that is the best that I can offer. I just do not want to go down to the recruiting office and get your fool head blown off – when there is actual knowledge accumulated. It would be impolite.”

“Send me to Repeating Arms, and I will make my way from there. My brothers like to shoot guns, so they will be happy.”

“And you promise me not to sign up?”

“Some of my brethren have already gone.”

“Promise, not to avoid the question.”

Thinking for a minute, and then raised my right hand, like taking an oath: “I promise.”

That is how I wandered into the commercial laboratory, and on my way in, met a woman – who was the chemist, and often shot test rounds, herself. It was not a good start – and to my mind, she was icy to me. I later found out that she had a husband serving overseas and had made arrangements to move to Mexico City after the war. Her beau was serving with the British – so eager to get into battle. I met him only twice, once when he was on leave – and nice enough. The other time was after the war – and things were different with him: he had the “million-year stare” and drank until there was no tomorrow.

Something needed to be done about that, and I suppose I must have been nominated by the man behind the mirror.