James-Copenhagen

A response to the film //Copenhagen//

Over my Thanksgiving Break I pondered intermittently over the film //Copenhagen// I saw last week in a struggle to compose my thoughts on the film. One quote really stood out and although it may not be the main point of the film it is a timeless theme that I thought was worth bringing up. In Niels Bohr's attempt to decipher Heisenberg's motives in coming to see him in Copenhagen, he tries to ask himself a simple question in an effort to stay one strep ahead of him. "Where are we off to next?" This powerful statement is what people all over the world have been asking themselves everyday since cognitive thinking has come to rise. The foundation of modern science fiction is based off of this question alone. From flying cars to teleportation, musing over future potentials has inspired and driven the progression of the scientific and technological entities.

In the context of the statement, Bohr was obviously wondering what possibilities are there for the application of arising quantum theories towards fission. The answer to the question for Bohr was lots of power, and specificly in a fission bomb, or "atomic" bomb, more powerful than anything imaginable in Bohr's time. The fear then sets in regarding what Heisenberg's intentions were with such information. Fission produces a lot of power, and "with great power comes great responsibility." (Spiderman) Although a good friend, there is still a component of nationalism to Heisenberg's being, and it is a matter of debate whether he would rather give a mad man a weapon of mass destruction or see his homeland burned to the ground. Eventually it is discovered that there is no threat of Germany producing atomic weapons for the vast number of natural resources an already wasted land would have to come up with.

The question "Where are we off to next" was one that everybody should ask themselves daily. It inspires the imagination and sparks curiosity. Nothing is every made out of thin air and everything man made on this planet started with an idea, a mental image of something that could be. Many say that's the easiest part.