Today's society is moving away from scientific inquiry and focusing on the here and now, and the possible future our efforts have shifted from the pursuit of discovery from a pure hunch to developing new technology for our nuclear missiles. The idea of worst-case-scenario in many aspects is an idea of the worst possible outcome a situation could possibly have. While no one likes to plan for worst-case-scenario one of the militaries hardest jobs is planning for these situations because that the worst case is a scary possibility. As the semester progresses we slowly move from idea of exploring a topic to arguing that topic this exactly what Lewis Thomas was doing in his two essays The Unforgettable Fire and Basic Science and the Pentagon by Thomas Lewis.
Throughout The Unforgettable Fire by Lewis Thomas we received a new perspective and a shift from our typical readings. This semester has been focused on taking the reader deeper, using an array of rhetorical devices to paint an extremely detailed picture inside the reader’s head. In this weeks reading the overall mood has shifted immensely. Instead of understanding the interworkings of a campaign, or the famous lobster festival, we must look at the cold and sad realization of nuclear warfare. More specifically the military efforts to plan for a worst-case scenario and their plans. In planning for the next “D-day” Lewis Thomas’ uses rhetorical devices such as flashbacks in history to encourage readers to realize the pure destruction that these missiles are capable of. Thomas Lewis’ word choice and tone and his overall direction of the essay head down a very dark path, he paints a picture of absolute destruction, once again looking back in the past of dinosaurs and there ultimate extinction. Overall the Unforgettable Fire is the understanding of what is an acceptable amount of damage upon someone else. While not specifically stating, this essay hints at the destruction of other ...