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LETTERS | FEBRUARY 2, 1998 VOL. 151 NO. 5 |
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Letters MAN OF THE YEAR
"Andrew Grove's genius is the result of superior intellect,
discipline and the fulfillment of opportunities available in the
U.S."
I always look forward to seeing your pick for Man of the Year
[Dec. 29-Jan. 5], but I can't remember ever having such a good
feeling about your selection. The story of Intel's Andrew Grove
could easily be turned into a Spielberg movie about overcoming
adversity and achieving the American Dream. Great choice!
Andrew who? I can't believe you picked a man, whom many have
never heard of, for his expertise in science and technology.
What are science and technology if they contribute only to man's
material advancement?
I learned with interest that in 1944 eight-year-old Andy Grove
narrowly escaped the clutches of the Nazis. The Holocaust saw
the murder of millions of innocent victims, many of them
children not so lucky as Grove. Their lives were regarded as
worthless by the Nazis. The civilized world can now only despair
over what other invaluable contributions the Holocaust deprived
us of.
Grove's life appears to be intricately linked to that of TIME's
1956 Man of the Year, the Hungarian Freedom Fighter. This
connection, over the span of four decades, illustrates quite
well how momentous past events in Europe are directly related to
current American innovation and prosperity.
You reported Grove's view that technology is not good or bad, it
just happens. I'm still naive enough to want heroes. I want
leaders to proclaim that if used wisely, this technology can
provide one of the seminal moments in human evolution. The
printing press, radio and television all come to mind as
precursors of this revolution. Perhaps Grove has made his goals
clear simply in his involvement with Intel, but if he has a view
that reaches beyond our limited horizons, I wish he had shared
it with us.
Obviously, the businesses of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Andrew
Grove have a great impact on our everyday life. But to compare
the advice of a successful businessman like Grove with "learning
from God," as one student put it, shows how perverse we are.
Machines and their apprentices are our modern gods, while real
moral values and their icons, like Gandhi, Martin Luther King
Jr. and Mother Teresa, fade out of sight. What a brave new world!
As a 17-year-old high school student who will be living with
Grove's legacy, I am scared. On one side of the scale is what
computers can do. On the other side are mankind and the human
mind. I fear the eventual creation of a society peopled with
those who create tools that can deny them the opportunity to
think or even imagine. We need to take a step back and think
about what the hell we are doing.
I work in the high-tech industry, and success stories in this
domain always end up with million-dollar houses or sports-car
collections. I think Grove's simple life-style at home and in
the office shows that business success comes with continuous
hard work and a strong commitment. It does not rest solely on
the quest for power and money. PEOPLE WHO SHAPED 1997
I was surprised that Mother Teresa wasn't recognized as one of
those who made history last year [Dec. 29-Jan. 5]. Surely she
contributed more to this world than Princess Diana and U.S.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. A lady of leisure who
spent her short life with royal jokers and playboys is hailed as
one who shaped 1997? And a human being who tirelessly spent her
entire life tending to the destitute doesn't warrant any
mention? That omission makes me wonder where we are headed.
Princess Diana was the personality of the year, if not the
decade. She and 1997 will go down in history. MIRED IN BOSNIA
Washington's Bosnian adventure is beginning to resemble Br'er
Rabbit's entanglement with the Tar Baby. Once again a President
has decided to extend the deployment of U.S. troops abroad [Dec.
29-Jan. 5]. This time they will stay in Bosnia more or less
indefinitely to prevent the resumption of war. But this is a
problem mainly of America's making. Washington's train-and-equip
program, which was much opposed by Europe, has decisively tilted
the military balance in favor of the Muslims, who now openly
threaten war once NATO forces depart. Whereas the Bosnian Serbs
have merely to lift a finger to invite massive NATO air strikes,
the Muslims discount the possibility that NATO would turn
against them should they go on the warpath. A STUDY GUIDE TO AMISTAD
In his essay "Amistad is important. Discuss," Garry Trudeau
distorted the facts about the study guide my company developed
for the film Amistad [Dec. 29-Jan. 5]. The guide was written not
by publicists but by the editors of this company, which has
almost 20 years' experience in creating classroom materials. In
addition, the Amistad guide was reviewed by the Smithsonian
Institution. It was designed as a supplement to--not a
substitute for--the social studies curriculum. It aims to
stimulate discussion and encourage research. We ask students to
explore the difference between historical drama and historical
scholarship and include a comprehensive bibliography. The
response from educators who have received the Amistad guide has
been overwhelmingly positive. CUTTING DANGEROUS EMISSIONS
At the Kyoto climate conference, the European Union wanted to
reduce greenhouse-gas emissions 15% below 1990 levels by the
year 2010 [Dec. 22]. Some may think that was an unrealistically
ambitious proposal, but it shows how deep is Europe's desire to
reduce pollution. However, the U.S. wanted just a 7% cut, and
the conference could not reach an agreement if the goal was not
the one Al Gore and the Americans wanted! Another alarming U.S.
proposal was for "emissions trading," which would let a country
that had cut its pollution more than required sell its points to
a nation that had fallen short of its goal. How could the
U.S.--a country that calls itself developed, democratic, a
defender of human rights and an environmentally concerned
nation--propose a deal like that? It implies that in the future,
the richest countries could pollute freely. The emission cuts in
Kyoto are absurd. Portugal would have the right to pollute 40%
more than it already does. And Portugal could sell its pollution
rights to a highly industrialized country that could build more
dangerous industries and increase pollution. Is that the way to
turn down the heat?
Secondary-school students could play an important role in the
fight to save the environment. In their final year of schooling,
students should be given a course on global warming.
Mathematical training could be included in statistical problems
on global warming. Thus millions of students would acquire not
only international awareness and global thinking but also
mathematical skills.
BACK TO THE PAST? Our profile of Intel's Andy Grove [Dec. 29-Jan. 5] led a number of readers to ask whether microchips and advances in computer technology are necessarily a good thing. J. Richard Stanko of Omaha, Neb., looked back enviously to a simpler time. Lamented Stanko: "I walk into my office and find the fax machine piled high, more messages on E-mail and voice mail, plus a mobile phone bleating for attention. I want my rotary phone back." Chris Humphrey of Mexico City wrote, "Technology can have drastic implications that should be questioned, including how human beings relate to one another. Change needs to be analyzed and questioned, not blithely applauded." Martin White of Toronto had similar thoughts: "Our technology today puts pressure on moral and ethical behavior, limits and questions. Where will the answers come from?"
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