Nukespeak: nuclear language, visions, and mindset
George Orwell's argument that language can manipulate and shape public understanding is the basis for this analysis of the language of nuclear development, or Nukespeak. Nukespeak characterizes a mind already encoded with a set of beliefs and able to filter information accordingly. The authors analyze how information-management techniques worked as the nuclear age was greeted first with enthusiasm and vision, then with secrecy as the hazards of radiation exposure began troubling the public. He traces the effort to find a satisfactory solution to waste management, the arguments for a nuclear economy, and the shift from atoms for peace to atoms for war. Nukespeak limits the way nuclear weapons are perceived, artificially constraining policy choices. The authors feel that mankind must acknowledge this mindset before alternatives to the nuclear arms race will become available. 974 references, 19 figures. (DCK)
- OSTI ID:
- 6208280
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Endless generations of nuclear weapons
Sakharov and the nuclear test ban
Related Subjects
POLICY AND ECONOMY
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
NUCLEAR ENERGY
INFORMATION DISSEMINATION
NUCLEAR POWER
PUBLIC OPINION
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
PUBLIC INFORMATION
SECRECY PROTECTION
ENERGY
INFORMATION
POWER
WEAPONS
290600* - Energy Planning & Policy- Nuclear Energy
990300 - Information Handling