"I really don't think these guys know what they're talking about.”  -Richard Feynman on the “Nuclear Winter”

 

"Stanislav Petrov, the man who saved the world from nuclear disaster, on this day in 1983, 39 years ago today, saw the word "LAUNCH" flash across the Soviet Union's attack early warning system. His screen stated with high reliability that a total of five American intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) had been launched and were headed toward the Soviet Union. Petrov had to make a decision: should he report an incoming American strike, or should he hold off, confident that what they were seeing was a false alarm?

 

If he reported it, Soviet nuclear doctrine called for a full nuclear retaliation. There would be no time to double-check the warning system or seek negotiations with the U.S. This occurred during the Reagan administration, which had taken a firmer stance against the Soviets compared to previous administrations. The Reagan administration was deploying Pershing I nuclear-armed missiles to West Germany and Great Britain, capable of striking the Soviet Union. Given these circumstances, Petrov had reasons to believe that Reagan's brinkmanship had escalated to an actual nuclear exchange."  -@historyinmemes

 

It’s simple to seek substitutes for competence—such easy substitutes:  love, charm, kindness, charity.  But there is no substitute for competence.”  -Ayn Rand