The Nuclear Bomb

Introduction

This essay will be critically analysing the design of the nuclear bomb. It will discuss what it would be like to be the creator of such a design and the moral and personal dilemma’s it would entail. It is a piece of design that has shaped how our world is run today. It is one of the few things that is designed with the hope for it to be never used. Putting the design to use is the most thought provoking and difficult decision that can be made. Another reason for choosing this design is because it has the potential to extinct our species. This fact alone brings up many questions like why this design even exists and why someone would ever release such a device into the world. These are the questions this essay will be looking to answer while referring to social and political constructs. This essay will be analysing the bomb from the mindset of a designer to try and gain a better understanding of what motives are behind the development such a device.

The design

There is no denying that the nuclear bomb in terms of design is good. It is a superweapon, a perfect example of destruction and death. The designers responsible for its creation set out to make the most powerful and deadly weapon ever created and that is exactly what they did. If you are near the blast, then you will die. There is no escaping and no chance of survival, the nuclear bomb makes death a certainty. The harder question on the other hand to answer is if nuclear bombs are ethical. Seeing that the definition of ethics is the extension of potentiality. Many might say that the nuclear bomb has the potential to do both good and bad despite being designed to cause destruction.

Ethics

Various individuals believe that the detonation of the bomb in Hiroshima was necessary for the surrender of japan and is one of the curtail turning points that led to the end of the war. Many would argue that the number of lives lost as a result of that explosion is far less than the lives lost if japan had not surrendered. The war would have continued and millions more would’ve died. However, the nuclear bomb is designed for large areas. Every single time a nuclear bomb has been used in a war innocent life have been lost. The completely unethical and reckless quality of the nuclear bomb is that it has the potential to kill people who were never intended to be killed. This is because there is no way of controlling the number of people killed or who is killed. With a gun you point it at the person you deem worthy of dyeing and you shoot. You know exactly who is dying and why, no such choice can be made with the nuclear bomb. It has the potential to kill anyone weather that be woman children and even animals. Unless aliens come down from the sky and try and kill us all there cannot be a nuclear detonation in a war without the death of innocents. For this reason alone, the nuclear bomb can never be morally ethical.

Affordances

When considering what the design of the nuclear bomb affords there are many things to consider. The main and most mind-blowing thing it affords humanity to do is eradicate its own species. It is a piece of design that even its own creator would unlikely use. So why design something that one should never hope to use. There are many other uses for nuclear bombs that are not physical. A nuclear bomb is a piece of design that affords the world to be controlled. It is a statement as much as a flashy car is. It is used to show wealth, strength and power with the hope to control others with fear. The most powerful nuclear bomb ever detonated is the RDS-220 hydrogen bomb. Its shockwave travelled around the earth 3 times. The potential destructive power of the nuclear bomb is unimaginable. There are enough nuclear bombs in the world to kill the entire human race with some to spare. If we assumed on average that it would take 3 nuclear bombs to completely level a city then that means we could destroy every single city on the planet and still have roughly 1500 nuclear weapons left. This is a perfect example of the term over kill. This clearly means that the number of nuclear bombs a country owns represents something other than its destructive capabilities. Nuclear bombs have created this game within politics of “my sticks bigger than yours”. Country’s make bombs to show who is the most powerful and feared despite what the result of detonating such a device would have on their own country. For example, if America exploded even a fraction of their nuclear bombs (1000) they will see about 50 times more Americans die than on 9/11 due to the after-effects of our own weapons.

The reality

More countries have nuclear weapons today than ever before this is Because of the spread of nuclear power, more countries now have the knowledge and resources to create nuclear weapons. A natural presumption may be that more fingers on the triggers, means it likely it is they will be used. However, the introduction of the internet and social media has changed society from when one was last used. Nowadays with so many voices and people being able to see what is really going on something like a nuclear detonation may never be allowed. Society seems to have evolved, people are as educated and aware as ever. Nuclear war would be unthinkable given our improved knowledge of the direct and long-term effects of radioactive fallout. People know now that any sane and decent human being would never use such a device. It is unspeakable to think that there are Several countries that have said they would still be prepared to use their nuclear weapons.

In conclusion this essay has critically analysed the nuclear bomb by considering social and moral implications of bringing such a device into creation. It is a feat of design and the conclusion this essay has came to is that it nowadays it is more of a symbol of strength than a weapon. A nuclear bomb cannot be detonated without causing serious and deadly consequences to not only the enemy but the whole planet. It is one of the most interesting designs because it influences the world in more ways than intended. It shows the power and potential influence design can have to the world.

Word count : 1080

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/10/19/17873822/nuclear-war-weapons-bombs-how-kill

https://www.iflscience.com/environment/how-many-nukes-would-it-take-to-totally-screw-humanity/

A Masked World

This essay will explore and reflect on the prosed future our group has presented. The future our group proposed takes place in a dystopian world where globally the air has become so polluted and contaminated that humans are required to wear an apparatus/air filtration mask in order to breathe safely. The reason for choosing such a harsh future is because it is one that evidence suggests could very well become our reality. Inspiration to take this more realistic dark route is because this is already the reality for many living in areas such as China. I found it impossible to imagine not being to walk outside and take a deep breath of fresh air. Living in a world that requires humans to cover their faces at all times is something that would affect human beings not just physically but physiologically as well. What this essay will do is reflect on research myself and my group have carried out, solutions we have created and discuss social implications of how living in such a corrupt future could change how society itself works. It will use news articles and reports on the current air pollution problem in the world today and show how we could already be seeing the beginning signs of such a future. What this is essay hopes to do is question how far humans will push the limits of not only our planet but also our bodies before taking responsibility and finally fixing the mess that we have created.

Could this be our future?

It is common knowledge that the global population has been rising exponentially in the past decade and is something that doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon (Sandbox Networks, 2019). It is also well documented that China is in fact the most populated country in the world with a population of close to 1,400,000,000 (Sandbox Networks, 2019) With such a large amount of people living there it is no wonder china’s energy requirements are overwhelming. This in turn leads to a lot of pollution to the surrounding environment. Although Three years ago at the Communist Party’s annual congress, Premier Li Keqiang declared war on air pollution it is said that “In China today, air pollution kills an estimated 1.1 million people a year.” (Gardiner, 2017). It could be possible seeing that the global population is on the rise for countries such as America or India etc in the next 50 years to reach a similar population as china today. This means that these countries will have to carter for same energy needs and will have to deal with the same issue’s china is today. Therefore, there is cause to believe that without severe action in the next 50 years the majority of the world could be dealing with the same crisis as china. There are already signs that air pollution is reaching dangerous levels in London and experts fear that “despite considerable efforts already made, levels of air pollution stubbornly refuse to recede — and remain alarmingly high in locations where traffic flows converge.” (Jacobs, 2019) Our proposed future sees china as just the beginning. That the rest of the world will follow china’s ways in order to cope with the rising population and energy needs.

Societal Implications

If breathing air, the most basic of human functions would require facial equipment to facilitate there is serious societal implications to consider. Firstly, the general population wearing a mask which covers as much as half the face would have personal and physical effects that must be acknowledged. Covering a human’s face could potentially be uncomfortable and would need to consider different facial structures and also the materials which could minimise this. Further, wearing a mask would impose significant inconvenience and change to personal routines such as getting ready in the morning, eating, drinking and physical exercise. This could influence many aspects of the working day as well as personal time for people. A mask may also impact upon everyday live in a way that may not initially be obvious, changing how the world views the individual.

Covering everyone’s faces with the exact same mask could to an extent, end individuality if people where to all look the same. To combat this issue colourful, trendy air pollution masks have started to appear in China and other parts of the world (PollutionAirMask.com, 2018). However, this may produce problems of its own making if the masks themselves are viewed as a fashion accessory rather than a vital piece of health equipment. Recent developments in California have hinted at this during the recent wild fires that happened there last year. Companies such as Vogmask capitalised on this disaster by producing filtration masks that where glamourized on both fashion catwalks and social media (Eveleth, 2019). Although self-expression is essential to human behaviour the fear is that the idolization of these masks may cloud some people’s judgement. Seeing the masks simply as a trend or fashionable accessory, could distract people from the reality that air pollution is essentially preventing us from being able to breathe our own planets air. This dangerous coupling of consumerism with a life-threatening issue could risk disengaging people from the reckless and ignorant behaviours that have caused this unnatural phenomenon in the first place.

A further concern of the global implementation on breathing masks is the massive affect it may have on social interaction and the functioning of society itself. It would impact not only how we communicate verbally but also how we communicate through facial expressions. Human faces are a crucial part of how we identify and distinguish different people. When interacting with other humans’, faces are what we are first drawn to. A person’s face not only tells who that person is but how they really feel in a social situation. Reading a person’s facial expressions is a key part of social interaction. Without this ability humans won’t be able to communicate to their full potential “spoken language plays such an important role that we often forget about the importance of non-verbal signals. Among these non-verbal signals, facial expressions have a major part in social interactions” (Firth, 2009) Consider, the role of facial expressions when interacting with a friend. Facial expressions allow happiness, joy or even surprise to be conveyed. In a world where masks are commonplace the reality is that common encounters may be substantially changed.

Another huge social implication of covering the populations face with a mask could potentially dehumanise people. People could stop seeing each other as unique and complex beings, focusing more on the visual appeal or quality of the worn masks. Furthermore, this could lead to a more antisocial and withdrawn society. Already there is examples in society of the social impacts of masks. One study explored the effect of doctors wearing facemasks upon patients’ perception of doctors’ empathy, patient satisfaction and patient enablement (NCBI, 2013) “This study demonstrates that when doctors wearing a facemask during consultations, this has a significant negative impact on the patient’s perceived empathy and diminish the positive effects of relational continuity.” Therefore, it is fair to say that most people would feel more at ease seeing their doctors face rather than a medical mask. This is a clear representation of human behaviour when interacting with someone who is masked and is evidence of how this may play out in a masked society. The potential for the transformation of society into an endless sea of faceless, emotionless masks could signal a great loss of individualism and care for our fellow human beings.

Prosthetic solutions

As a solution to this my group proposed a prosthetic throat that would be surgically implanted into a human’s neck. What this prosthetic would do is filter out toxic fumes and harmful chemicals without having to wear a mask. Through research my group carried out where we asked people’s current views on prosthetics, we discovered that many people nowadays no longer think of having a prosthetic limb as a disadvantage but as an advantage. A big influence on this believe could be the controversy that was widely covered involving Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius who was banned from competing because “his artificial legs gave him an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes.” (Biography.com Editors, 2019). Another reason for this belief could be because of recent advances in technology or even due to popular movies featuring prosthetic limbs such as Anakin Skywalkers bionic hand. Whatever the reason it appears that many people now look at prosthetics as rather cool. What this means is that in a future like so where the option exists to get a prosthetic throat many people would likely take it and not see it as a problem but rather as an upgrade. This may sound like a good thing however the process of having the throat replacement surgically placed in your throat would leave a large Frankenstein like scar down the front of your neck. The question we wanted to raise is that although many would debate a scar is a small price to pay for being able to breathe safely, should there be a price to pay at all? Shouldn’t we be able to safely breathe in our own planets air without having to scar our bodies. Will human ignorance push the earth to a point that the only way to survive is by physically adapting to a problem we created.

Conclusion

In conclusion this essay has shown the effects and consequences of what will potentially happen if the human race does not fix its current air pollution problem. This essay has shown that a future like so will not only affect how our society works but how we as humans’ function and interact in our day to day lives. What our group wanted to do was question the potential lengths humans might go before facing up to the problems at hand taking these issues seriously.

Word count: 1643

References

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Sandbox Networks, 2019. Infoplease. [Online]
Available at: https://www.infoplease.com/world/population-statistics/worlds-50-most-populous-countries
[Accessed 22 april 2019].