I’d heard most of that story before, but the thing that stood out for me on reading the Staff Report is that ol’ Alfy, even after he saw how his own inventions had been turned to evil uses, still apparently had absolute faith that physics and chemistry are inherently good for humanity. He specified that the literature prize be given to a great work “in an ideal direction,” and what could have with perhaps greater justification been called the politics prize is specifically for “work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” The scientific prizes have no such specifications. Any great discovery in chemistry, physics, or medicine is presumed to be to the benefit of humankind, regardless of how its use could be perverted. That’s a wonderful optimism, and I admire him for it, even if I can’t quite bring myself to share it entirely.
That’s possibly because you’re a product of the pessimistic Late 20th Century. If you had been a product of the optimistic Late 19th Century, which was an era bursting with boundless faith in Better Living Through Chemistry, you might have shared his optimism.
Or are you jes’ generally a pessimist anyway? 