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QC (in Berlin 7/29-???)
@QiaochuYuan
i get the sense reading this stuff from the 1930s that the first half of the twentieth century was a time when physics seemed like a *really big deal*. relativity, quantum mechanics, the atom bomb. seems like science fiction grew out of this awe at the power of physics
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QC (in Berlin 7/29-???)
@QiaochuYuan
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one thing that really strikes me here is that lovecraft and eddington share a strong concern with understanding the *spiritual significance* of discoveries in physics and astronomy. lovecraft wants to know: what does it *mean* that the universe is so vast and empty?
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sasha
@softminus
i think not just that, but also awe at how rapidly technology could be deployed in real-world large-scale projects. awe at an industrial base and engineers and theoreticians and government working together to make difficult technological miracles happen efficiently and fast.
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sasha
@softminus
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@QiaochuYuan
space race, aerospace in general (from Wright brothers to supersonic flight and walking on the moon in living memory, the dream of supersonic transports with subsonic jets being just a stopgap), nuclear power, semiconductors and computing a lot of cold war offshoots in there huh
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