Although
brief, this part of the talk was one of my favorite class discussions. We
watched part of The Atomic Bomb Movie,
which included statements from Edward Tellar about his role in the development
of the atomic bomb during WWII. Bill talked about how war changes everyone who
experiences it, and while scientists are lucky enough to be a step removed from
the battlefield, they still have tremendous impact through their work in
developing new weapons and technologies. It’s difficult to judge the actions of
the participants of the Manhattan Project because the atmosphere that they
lived and worked in was so different from my own life, but it’s still important
to evaluate their decisions and keep the importance of ethics in mind no matter
what your field of work.
Bill
also referenced Jonas Salk and the development of the polio vaccine.
Apparently, the first round of the vaccine didn’t work and wound up killing a
hundred children, but Salk didn’t give up and eventually came up with the proper
vaccine. I think that it was incredibly brave of him to continue his research
even after the failure of the first vaccine. As it says in Spiderman, with
great power comes great responsibility. The
ethical side of science is fascinating, and I think it’s really interesting to
explore the question of whether you should do something just because you can.
The
afternoon was taken up with our first student presentations. Each of the
Hershey Park groups presented on a lab about exponential growth and decay. My
group’s lab was both an experiment with dice and a lab on the radioactive decay
of barium. Our presentation went well, and our conclusion was well-supported by
our data. Tomorrow we’ll continue with student presentations, these featuring
our interest groups.
Tonight
was a night for food. At 5:30 PM I met the rest of my floor and the
corresponding boys’ floor to go to our RC dinner. Bianca and Kyle, the two
RC’s, took us to an Indian restaurant called New Delhi. I ordered the buffet
dinner, but didn’t eat nearly as much as I usually do because I had a second
dinner to attend shortly after. I left dinner number one early and walked back
to the quad to meet with the Penn Team to go to our monthaversary dinner with
Mr. Lawrence.
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| Ivette enjoys her mushroom soup |
We
went to a place called White Dog, which had typical American-style food. I
ordered mushroom soup, a chicken entrée, and blueberry crisp. The food was
great, but I probably didn’t pay it the attention it deserved. For most of
dinner, I was consumed with absorbing the chatter and laughter of my cohort.
I’ve spent practically my entire summer with these people, and it could not
have been a better experience. Mr. Lawrence was a great chaperone, and to show
our appreciation we got him a card and a silly little gift that we all signed. I
can’t deny that I’ll be glad to see my friends and family back in the Bay, but
I have loved this experience with these people and I will miss them once we’re
back. We’re all going to hang out and have reunions, but it can never be quite
the same. The Penn girls were discussing packing strategies, as this was a
problem on the way over and we’ve only acquired more stuff, and Ivette offered
up some space in her suitcase to Clara. However, Clara had better be sure to
get it back before we leave the airport, because WE WON’T BE GOING TO THE SAME
HOTEL TOGETHER ANYMORE.
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| Mr. Lawrence opening his card |
I
still remember that sleepy shuttle ride to SFO at 3 AM on June 25, when eight
strangers tried to stay awake and make small talk. If we were to repeat that
scenario now, we would be laughing, talking in a secret language, sharing music, and falling
asleep on each other’s shoulders. I love these people and I’m so glad that I
got to know each and every one of them, amazing as they are. Penn Team, it’s
been great sharing this experience with you.
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