Group Effort Quotes
“Combination” was then a word for a large corporate enterprise, monopoly or trust. Although large corporations are common in the modern economy, at the time there were very few of them and most of them use their power to crush competition and take advantage of helpless consumer. Instead of banning largeness as some wanted to do, President Theodore Roosevelt and others chose regulation, and the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act were passed. Individualism in the form of small businesses have proved amazingly resilient and have developed into a giants like Microsoft and a Google. Over half a of the new jobs created in our economy are done so by small businesses.
The normally highly individualistic scientists from so many different cultures amazed all, especially the military, with the teamwork and organization of their effort. They all wanted to be sure that the Germans would not first develop the bomb and the refugees from Europe shared experiences that motivated them all. Also, the Army was very ham handed in trying to organize a community of scientists, and there was a great deal of cohesion to keep the army out of their day to day affairs. The other major factor was J. Robert Oppenheier, the scientific director, who despite his lack of managerial or leadership experience, rose to the occasion and became one of the great scientific administrators of all time. Ulam with Edward Teller were the first to design the Hydrogen Bomb.
Spinoza was one of the most feared intellectuals in human history—feared, that is, by the established power structures. Spinoza’s ideas were considered so radical and dangerous that he was the only man in history who was excommunicated by the Catholics, the Jews and the Muslims.
