Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

I didn't really get that sense from the film. At one point, Teller even says (paraphrased) to Oppenheimer, "You're not a scientist anymore, you're a politician now." He is portrayed as a manager, not a lone genius.


A significant scene was just about Oppenheimer going on an Avengers style recruiting mission, getting the who's who of scientists on board. I don't think any endeavour before that or after that comes even close to matching the number of brilliant minds working under the same roof to solve a problem. The closest might be Bletchley Park perhaps, though there the only household name amongst those scientists is Alan Turing.


Tommy Flowers, Bill Tutte, Joan Clarke, ...

These names were known in an Australian household in the 1970s.

I can add more but they get increasingly obscure - but Flowers was as well known as Turing in the commonwealth in the 1980s.

Early peak Turing was when the Andrew Hodges book ('83 IIRC) got mainstream appeal later that decade, from there the myth grew.


It's probably fair that Turing is the only world famous name, but I don't think the BP museum or authors etc. generally do others any great disservice - the names you mention should be familiar to anyone who's visited.

I can't remember the film though, can believe it was more Turing-oriented.


yeah I definitely got the "collaborative" effort from the film.. its just that they made the film a biopic of one guy in that collab effort




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2026 batch! Applications are open till May 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: