Comments on: Doomsday Machine

By: Karl Hallowell

Karl Hallowell — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 11:45:34 +0000

What is our reaction to learning that the USSR may have created weapons intended to exterminate mankind? Is it shock?

As I mentioned before, it’s not a doomsday weapon. Also, we don’t have context here. What’s the equivalent infrastructure for the other nuclear powers? If US leadership dies suddently or Washington, DC is destroyed what happens? It’s hard to believe that the US doesn’t have some sort of retaliation system set up.

Same goes for China, England, France, Israel, etc.

By: gregbuls

gregbuls — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 22:41:59 +0000

It’s somewhat remarkable that we’ve managed to “win the cold war”. Here’s how the author’s suggestion would play out in the real world: The US and Russia would announce their nuclear plans and intentions, then the US would feel pressure to be “more reasonable”. We’d likely cave, and we might actually adopt the new posture.
The Russians’ official strategic posture would of course be completely fictional – they will do what they want to do, as always. They won’t be bound by treaty or world opinion.
An aside: Hitchens & Co. are having a heyday dumping on The Creator. If his chums are right, and humanity has a proclivity to want to attach to a “big idea”, this article sheds more light on one of the alternatives to religion. What is our reaction to learning that the USSR may have created weapons intended to exterminate mankind? Is it shock? They killed 25 million of their own citizens pursuing their experiments, it’s no shock to me. On the other hand, I don’t trust the Catholic church, or Adolf Achmadinejad, but I would be surprised to learn that either had created a doomsday machine. Both believe that the fate of this world is ultimately in the hands of a greater power, for the Soviets, that’s not the case. Same with the Nazis. A couple of big ideas and 100 million dead later, relegion doesn’t look so bad. And look how fast the nazis and Soviets were able to demonstrate how far men will go when they believe that they are supreme.

By: Karl Hallowell

Karl Hallowell — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:23:21 +0000

Two things here. First, it’s not a genuine doomsday weapon since all human life on Earth isn’t threatened. Second, this brings up the old scenarios of what’s the worst thing a bunch of terrorists with nukes could do? It sounds to me like nuking Moscow may be the absolutely worse thing they can do to the US. Depending of course, on the status of this retaliation system.

By: bright strangely

bright strangely — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:12:53 +0000

excellent! i hope i’m usually less than terrifying, i was laboring under the delusion i was an optimist.

By: bright strangely

bright strangely — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:11:36 +0000

excellent! i hope i’m usually less than terrifying… i was laboring under the delusion i was an optimist.