If you’ve ever heard Orson Welles on the radio, you know his style: the deep voice of authority, the dramatic pacing of volume and tone, the occasional gong punctuating the most climactic statements. Fourteen August is Orson at his most… Wellesian. And then comes the kicker: “With God and Uranium on our side…”

I nearly swallowed my chocolate.

It’s a classic snapshot of the attitude of the late 1940s and early 1950s: the belief that any problem could be conquered with the concerted focus of good scientific brainpower. Of course, many of world’s problems could be resolved — or at least relieved somewhat — by more attention (money, brainpower, willingness, etc.). But some have turned out to be resistant to such treatment, which makes the explicit faith in science come across as pathetically naive.

What is today’s equivalent?