The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War

What is another example of a technology that presented a choice between using it for something positive or something negative? A technology can be a single tangible object like the wheel or the car, but also a method of doing something using tangible objects, like the internet. How do you think the people who designed this technology intended for it to be used, and how do you think actual uses align with their intentions? Do your observations support or disagree with Gladwell’s perspective on technology?

Examine the morality of scientists inventing or discovering things that could be used for harm, such as napalm. Is it ethical for scientists to work on things like nuclear energy or genetic engineering if their work could be used in bad ways? Why or why not? Support your answer with examples from the book pertaining to its theme of Technology and Morality.

In his book, Gladwell doesn’t mention the racism of Americans toward Japanese people during World War II. How did that factor into the war against Japan? What about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor? Did either of them—or both—influence the approach to warfare in the Pacific Theater as compared to that in the European Theater? Present examples with historical evidence to support your opinion.