A discussion of the world as it was on August 13, 1960 – part of the At Random series hosted by Irv Kupcinet.
You could call this a historic gathering of thinkers and a lot of subjects are covered – and even at 90 minutes there was surely more to go, but sadly, the tape ran out.
Featured in this discussion are: Sir Charles Darwin (grandson of Theory of Evolution Charles Darwin) – Sir Julian Huxley (son of T.H. Huxley and brother of Aldous Huxley – Adlai Stevenson and Dr. Sol Tax from the University of Chicago, Anthropology Department.
The discussion begins with The Cold War and where the world stood in 1960 – talk about the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty – NATO, SEATO, threat of all-out Atomic War – possible annihilation of the human race. How we evolved to get to this place – the Theory of Evolution was still taught in schools as a “hypothetical”. And then the subject switches to God. Sir Julian is a devout Atheist, as is Darwin (to a lesser extent).
As in every discussion, the subjects weave in and out of each other and link to other parts of the discussion – what it makes for is compelling listening and certainly much irony is involved. Huxley brings up the point that, children born in 1960 will find a world overcrowded with a billion more than when they started. The subject touches on birth control (not quite FDA approved but 500,000 women were taking it). The subject then touches on the evolution of “thinking machines” – and that subject baffles some, leading to a few potential Science Fiction scenarios with a modicum of dry wit attached. An aside is brought up that it was possible a Thinking Machine could write poetry – to which Darwin quips “only other machines will enjoy it”.
In 1960, not that impossibly distant in time – many subjects discussed are commonplace now – it never would have occurred to any of the guests on this program that computers would become an integral part of our civilization – there is still the argument among some that Evolution is a theory, and there is now a movement afoot to impose tight regulations on contraception and to reinstate bans on abortion – something that only became legal in the 1970s.
We’ve come a long way and we haven’t – even though the Cold War was officially over in the 1990s, aspects of it are still present only the ideologies have changed – Marx has been replaced by Mein Kampf.
It’s a civilization that depends upon awareness – awareness not to make the same mistakes again.
But . . .
From August 13, 1960 here is that episode of At Random, hosted by Irv Kupcinet.
