Uncovering the KGB's Best Conspiracies

[Ivan Seeking]

This dosn't fall squarely into the definition of a conspiracy. I would call this an "act of espionage." I think this whole thread is running a bit eccentric, stemming from the lack of a good working definition of "conspiracy". Espionage, conspiracy, deception, fraud etc. are often related, but aren't interchangable terms.

They all involve conspiracies.

noun: a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act (especially a political plot)

noun: a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act

noun: a group of conspirators banded together to achieve some harmful or illegal purpose

 

[zoobyshoe]

That's not true. Even a fairly low intensity red LASER can do damage.

Nuclear blasts emit LASER-type light?

 

[zoobyshoe]

They all involve conspiracies.

noun: a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act (especially a political plot)

noun: a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act

noun: a group of conspirators banded together to achieve some harmful or illegal purpose

Something like the plot to assassinate Lincoln falls squarely into the definition of a conspiracy. Spying on a foreign embassy is much better described as "espionage". To call the hoodwinking of Hitler by the allies a "conspiracy" really misses the connotation of the word. To refer to Churchill having to keep the fact they cracked the enigma code a secret despite lives lost, as a "conspiracy" misses both the connotation and denotation of the word.

 

[username]

war of the worlds

well with the new film comming up thought this might be interesting if true I guess you could call this a conspiracy http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2807/2x2l.html

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Nuclear blasts emit LASER-type light?

The only reason LASER does damage is the intensity. It allows for high flux densities over a small area. A bright enough ~white light flash will do the same thing.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Something like the plot to assassinate Lincoln falls squarely into the definition of a conspiracy. Spying on a foreign embassy is much better described as "espionage". To call the hoodwinking of Hitler by the allies a "conspiracy" really misses the connotation of the word. To refer to Churchill having to keep the fact they cracked the enigma code a secret despite lives lost, as a "conspiracy" misses both the connotation and denotation of the word.

I chose to use the broader definition.

 

[zoobyshoe]

As I read through the material, it finally hit me that we had plenty of real data in which the period of dazzle was infinite. In other words, they sat these guys down and said, "hey soldier, look here", and blinded them.

Did they "dazzle" them, or "blind" them? The important difference being 1.)temporary inability to see, or 2) permanent damage to their vision.

Direct exposure to the UV light emitted by a nuclear blast will permanently harm a person's vision. But ordinary glass won't transmit UV light. You say the soldiers viewed the blasts through periscopes, which, as used by the military, routinely have thick glass prisms. As I mentioned, Feynman watched the first nuclear blast protected only by the windshield of a pickup truck. In his case the initial dazzle was so short that he could see everything of importance. You can re-read his account in Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman. After the initial flash hit him, he was so surprised he ducked down in the cab, and experienced a short period of "dazzle" where all he could see was a purple splotch. That cleared up fast enough for him to watch the main formation of the explosion, which he said all lasted about a minute and a half.

I have thought about digging those up and sending copies to some news agency.

What Moonbear and I are trying to bring your attention to, is that there is probably no story here. Soldiers being "dazzled" in one eye for several hours after exposure to a nuclear blast is very minor compared to the idea they were callously permanently blinded in one eye.

If you want to indict the military there are many much more serious offences they've committed. This one doesn't add up from the information you've presented to be what you thought it was.

The only reason LASER does damage is the intensity. It allows for high flux densities over a small area. A bright enough ~white light flash will do the same thing.

Nuclear blasts don't emit anything like LASER light, because they emit light over a wide range of frequencies. LASER light remains intense over long distances because it is composed of light, all of the same frequency. The light from a nuclear blast obeys the normal inverse square laws for intensity. If we measure the intensity of the light from a nulear blast at point A, say one mile from the blast, and compare it to the intensity at point B, two miles from the blast, it will be only a quarter as intense at point B than it was at A.

We already know from Feynman's story that the intensity of the non-UV light from a blast isn't necessarily of concern simply because the source is so intense. What also matters is how far you are from that source, and the duration of exposure. I don't see any cut and dried case in all this that the soldiers in those tests were permanently blinded.
I am sure they were temporarily dazzled, but that's the only thing that is sure from your information.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I chose to use the broader definition.

Which broader definition? All the ones you gave are equally broad:

They all involve conspiracies. noun: * a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act (especially a political plot)
noun: * a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an
unlawful act
noun: * a group of conspirators banded together to achieve some
harmful
or illegal purpose

The trouble with claiming you chose the broader definition is that words carry connotions as well as denotations, and this isn't something you can ignore. It is inherent in the word because of the history of its usage.

If you call the allied efforts to fool Hitler a conspiracy, you are implying a criticism of them for that. You are pointing out that they were plotting to carry out a harmful act. You are giving it a bad connotation when you associate it with the words: illegal, harmful, unlawful. A conspiracy is a bad thing.

The Harbrace College Handbook advises:

"Choose the word with the connotation, as well as the denotation, appropriate to the idea you wish to express.

Reading the thread leaves me unsure what kind of activities it is you want to examine. Conspiracies is clearly the wrong word for whatever it is. Looking at all the examples, I would say that something like "Secret Activities" covers it.

The first example, the secret microphone, involved some conspiring to perpetrate yes, but is conspiracy the best word to communicate the idea of what went on there?

The above book advises:

"Before choosing a synonym or closely related word from such a list [synonyms in a thesaurus], look it up in the dictionary to make sure that it expresses your meaning exactly. Although void, idle, and inane are all listed as synonyms of empty, they have different meanings."

This points out that just because words are related doesn't mean they are interchangable. Using the embassy espionage as an example of a great conspiracy conveys an eccentric or maybe careless attitude toward the meaning of the word "conspiracy". That seems to have set the stage for successive examples to stand further off center.

When you chose a word the connotation is just as important as the denotation.

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Reference book: Harbrace College Handbook
By Hodges and Whitten
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
1986 pp. 223 & 191