SOC100H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Nikolai Kondratiev, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Genetic Pollution
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SOC100H5 Full Course Notes
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We can call the period before hiroshima the era of the na ve optimism. During that time, technology could do no wrong. Technology was widely defined as the application of scientific principles to the improvement of human life. Successfully making more powerful engines: steam, turbine, jet, nuclear. Most ppl were in awe and viewed it with magical acts: overall, north americans value technology and science. Still, a growing # of ppl share oppenheimer"s doubts abt the bomb. In the 1970s & 1980s, the horrific disasters alerted ppl that tech is not always beneficial. Ex: in bhopal, india, abt 4000 ppl died and 30 000 injured due to a gas leak at a poorly maintained union pesticide plant. In ukraine, a reactor exploded releasing radio-activity as much as hiroshima"s, led to mass evacuations: by the mid-1980s charles perow was referring to these accidents as normal accidents : technology will inevitably fail in unpredictable ways.
