Personal
When I first became interested in weapons, I always had a pre-determined notion about how they functioned. I had imagined that each mechanism was straightforward: guns would just shoot out a bullet which would penetrate the target, while explosives would just blow up and kill the target in a fiery ball of destruction. However, after watching a television program about military weaponry, I was forced to change my view of how these weapons worked.
The best example of my paradigm shift in weapons was with the RPG-7. Originally I believed that once the warhead hit its target, it would explode and create a giant aperture in the structure; the explosion would obliterate everything, including any people inside. This was how I perceived it to function every time I saw it used in video games and such. However, the actual mechanism is slightly different. Instead, the warhead is lined with a conical sheet of copper with an explosive charge placed behind it. When the RPG is fired the warhead first hits the wall with the primary charge, creating a small hole for the secondary mechanism. Another detonator then activates, melting the conical liner into a heated jet of molten copper which enters the aperture and kills anyone inside the objective.
Although the paradigm shift does not affect me in any significant way, I was slightly disappointed that explosives do not work the way I thought they would (i.e. shock waves are the primary reason for explosives' effectiveness, not flames and whatnot). However, these new mechanisms piqued my interest in how these weapons worked and led me to read up on them a bit more.
 |
| Diagram of an RPG-7: Cone of molten copper fires out of the tip of the warhead, flowing through the hole made by the initial explosive charge and killing everyone inside the vehicle, structure, etc. |
Global
When I was 5-years old, I used to think the world was fairly nice and normal. The only villains I knew of were in Disney movies and video games. However, my view (and most likely everyone else's - not that everyone originally thought that world was full of rainbows and unicorns, but that is beside the point) was changed on 9/11, when a team of terrorists flew two 747s into the World Trade Center and knocked them down. My paradigm shift was not sudden, but it did develop over time (as most paradigm shifts do). Since I was a small child at the time, I did not fully understand what was going on. However, as I became older, I began to understand that not everyone is a good Samaritan that is out to help humanity. There were more than just cartoon bad guys out in the world. These people wanted to intentionally hurt people.
On a more global scale, people around the world, however, especially in the United States, began to realize that terrorism was becoming a significant threat to the safety of one's family and country. Changes were made to enhance security measures, while societies became more cautious and fearful of another attack. Less people began traveling out to certain regions for fear of being killed. The world became a more untrustworthy, alert place where everyone was wary of each other.
 |
| My original view of the world. |
Both of these are really good examples, and even for the global one, I like how you brought in your own perspective. I think most children go through a paradigm shift like yours at some point, but having a major event like 9/11 occur during your childhood must really make the realization that much more dramatic.
ReplyDeleteFor the weapons one, I remember having a similar experience when I learned how grenades worked. I can't pinpoint how I had the wrong concept of how they functioned - probably either movies or video games - but it was definitely weird to realize that my notion was completely incorrect.
Also, the unicorns are fantastic.