Hi Group 4 members.
As part of this group you will be investigating the question – If war is the mother of all invention, can it be justified?
You may wish to explore the following issues as you discuss this highly complex problem:
- Penicillin was fast tracked to Australian and Allied soldiers during WW2. It’s gone on to save millions (if not billions) of lives world wide. It may not have been discovered so quickly if not for the need of the war – so were elements of the war a good thing?
- Code breaking machines in England (and Germany) during WW2 were in essence the first mainframe computers. If not for the war, they would not have been needed. Again, were some elements of the war a good thing?
- What other examples of innovations during war time can you find? How important have these inventions been for civilian life following the war?
- Are there reasons to go to war to prevent the use of destructive inventions?
- Is war the mother of invention or is invention the mother of war?
Possible websites for evidence gathering:
http://www.ingenious.org.uk/Read/Conflict/Waristhemotherofinvention/
http://www.lowvarates.com/va-loan-blog/top-10-technological-advances-during-wartime-american/
http://www.highestfive.com/combat/wartime-innovations-that-have-shaped-our-world/