The Jasons: The Secret History of Science's Postwar Elite.THE JASONS: The Secret History of Science's Postwar Elite ANN FINKBEINER The Jasons, as silly as the name might sound nowadays, was an elite and deadly serious group of scientists that advised the U.S. government on defense strategies during the Cold War and on other science topics. The academics were outed during the Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. and briefly vilified. But since then, little about the nature of their classified work had been revealed to the public. Science writer Finkbeiner gives the first inside look at this illustrious but secretive group, named for the hero of the Greek tale Jason and the Argonauts Argonauts: see Jason; Argo; Golden Fleece. Argonauts In Greek legend, a band of 50 heroes who went with Jason in the ship Argo to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the grove of Ares at Colchis. . Among the group's ranks were such physics legends as Freeman Dyson Freeman John Dyson FRS (born December 15, 1923) is an English-born American theoretical physicist and mathematician, famous for his work in quantum mechanics, solid-state physics, nuclear weapons design and policy, and for his serious theorizing in futurism and science fiction and Murray Gell-Mann as well as numerous leaders from other scientific disciplines. These men and women met for a few weeks each year to develop scientifically sound ideas for various government agencies. Among their sponsors were the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), U.S. government agency administered by the Department of Defense (see Defense, United States Department of). , the CIA CIA: see Central Intelligence Agency. (1) (Confidentiality Integrity Authentication) The three important concerns with regards to information security. Encryption is used to provide confidentiality (privacy, secrecy). , the Navy, NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. , and the Department of Energy. Finkbeiner examines moral dilemmas that Jasons members faced in helping the government develop nuclear bombs and battlefield technologies. She also reveals the groundbreaking discoveries that stemmed from these meetings, including electronic battlefield technologies for the Vietnam War, climate-research systems, and astronomy technology that has extended scientists' view into space. This book looks at the consequences of an unusual interplay of science and government. Penguin, 2006, 336 p., hardcover, $27.95. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion