Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Classroom Simulation Analysis
On March 12, our class did partook in an activity simulating countries with nuclear capabilities. Everyone in the class was divided into different groups, and each group and one component of a nuclear bomb. However, some people were designated as spies. The role of these spies was to sabotage the group by secretly trading their component to another group. I was designated as a spy, and was immediately ousted by my group. As a result, I was moved to a different group. The simulation did not go as I expected it to. I thought that no one would get a nuclear weapon because people would be to scared. In reality, almost every group got a nuclear weapon (except for one, which chose to give up their component). In the end, the two larger groups declared war on each other. I think it's interesting that no one suggested diplomacy. It seemed as though the only route was to acquire a bomb.
The more power one country gets, the more power another country wants. The two countries wanted neither of them to be stronger so they declared war, even though they were equal. It showed that people in our class would rather have dominance than equality.
ReplyDeletewell we tried to have democracy, you were in fact the spy in our group that we kicked out, overall it was a matter of trust, like cole said, my country and the other country didnt trust each other because one could easily betray that trust and enilate the other group before they could do anything, if you could oppress the other groups then you felt safe.
ReplyDeleteI get what you're saying about being scared to obtain the bomb because when you have successfully made an atomic bomb, you become a threat. However, I think people were more scared not to have it than to obtain it. If you don't have an atomic bomb, then you are weak as opposed to all the countries with it that are strong. People would feel more comfortable with being strong than being a weak power.
ReplyDeleteI think that every group wanted a so called bomb because you start to feel threatened if someone else has something better then you. You start to feel the need that if you do not get something with equal or greater strength that you are not capable to match anyone else. I also think that people get distracted by being the best or greatest that they do not look at any other options besides violence or gaining more powerful weapons.
ReplyDeleteWhat I got out of this simulation was that like in the cold war, the Russians and the Americans were so invested in the arms race (just like the poeple in class were). They were desperate to make the atomic bomb and did not want other countries to obtain it. I also understood from this simulation that if people are given some sort of power, they would use it or try to show their dominance. If applied to the real world, I understand why countries like America where in such a rush to create stronger weapons.
ReplyDeleteIf you guys remember Mr. Stewart gave the class five minutes to decide if any of the countries were going to nuke someone. It took us 3 seconds to decide and flash the lights on our enemies. It showed our distrust towards each other. We could have wiped out the world in 3 seconds had we been actual rulers of countries.
ReplyDelete