To completely understand the correlation between science and war in the 1930's and in and around the this time period is that at this point of time in history entire nations were at war and the whole world was consumed in assisting the war in one way or another. Scientist at this point in time did not see the purpose in pursuing research in any other area independent of war because when any person is faced with the threat of extinction or capture, the person would do absolutely anything in their power and utilise their entire capabilities to prevent such a situation from taking place. Apart from this fact the entire world saw and heard about the atrocities of war and the various warcrimes anr scientist actually felt that it was their duty to help in whatever manner possible. So what is essential to be understood about this period is that science and war were progressing hand in hand and science was being utilised to its full extent to help out in whatever way possible to assist the wartime effort.
Today this picture has changed to a very large extent, research goes on in a wide plethora of topics and is not restricted only to war as it was earlier. An important facet in this war ie the second world war was the introduction of machines in war and now it was as tough the machine and its human operator were one single entity and this was how the basic fighting block of warfare was seen as.This led to the emergence of a new scientific understanding of war in which man and machine were seen as one. The enemy now known as the "Manichean devil" was an integrated form of man and machine who makes calculated rational moves during war. This was how the enemy was being modeled and simulated in the various labs and universities where war research was being done. This similarity of the enemy is carried over even today where the extremist elements are modeled on the same "Manichean devil" concept where the don't have any intrinsic value for life and will go to any end to achieve their goals. Norbert Weiner's research was also based on models of the pilot and the AA operator as such entities. This paved a new wave of thinking because now humans were modelled as machines and this is the essence of simulating human behavior using machines. Hence using the concept of feedback the human nervous system was modeled on the same lines using a "Black Box" approach, a model where the functionality of the model is more important than its constitution. Weiner was trying to prove that humans worked on the same feedback mechanisms as machines.
So in essence the convergence of science and war in this period led to a complete blurring of the man machine boundary an ideology that is so basic that it is seen carried over even today.
By
Vivek Subramaniam
Today this picture has changed to a very large extent, research goes on in a wide plethora of topics and is not restricted only to war as it was earlier. An important facet in this war ie the second world war was the introduction of machines in war and now it was as tough the machine and its human operator were one single entity and this was how the basic fighting block of warfare was seen as.This led to the emergence of a new scientific understanding of war in which man and machine were seen as one. The enemy now known as the "Manichean devil" was an integrated form of man and machine who makes calculated rational moves during war. This was how the enemy was being modeled and simulated in the various labs and universities where war research was being done. This similarity of the enemy is carried over even today where the extremist elements are modeled on the same "Manichean devil" concept where the don't have any intrinsic value for life and will go to any end to achieve their goals. Norbert Weiner's research was also based on models of the pilot and the AA operator as such entities. This paved a new wave of thinking because now humans were modelled as machines and this is the essence of simulating human behavior using machines. Hence using the concept of feedback the human nervous system was modeled on the same lines using a "Black Box" approach, a model where the functionality of the model is more important than its constitution. Weiner was trying to prove that humans worked on the same feedback mechanisms as machines.
So in essence the convergence of science and war in this period led to a complete blurring of the man machine boundary an ideology that is so basic that it is seen carried over even today.
By
Vivek Subramaniam
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