Fascinating and entertaining, as usual. Von Neumann claimed that the Prisoner's Dilemma game, which he didn't invent, but which was derived from his game theory, predicted that if both we and the Russians had nuclear weapons, it was inevitable that one side woulld use them. He recommended that that side be us and that we launch a preemptive nuclear strike on Moscow. So far, he's been wrong, but there's always tomorrow, and, as your essay implies, It might not be an attack, but just an accident, which is the trigger for such a holocaust.
I read the Rhodes book on the atom bomb about once a year or two, ever since you recommended it to me in the 90s. Back when we used to go to Casino Morango and break the bank, then blow a few grand on Denny's in Yucaipa. And, yes, Johnny Von Neumann knows all the answers.
Fascinating and entertaining, as usual. Von Neumann claimed that the Prisoner's Dilemma game, which he didn't invent, but which was derived from his game theory, predicted that if both we and the Russians had nuclear weapons, it was inevitable that one side woulld use them. He recommended that that side be us and that we launch a preemptive nuclear strike on Moscow. So far, he's been wrong, but there's always tomorrow, and, as your essay implies, It might not be an attack, but just an accident, which is the trigger for such a holocaust.
I read the Rhodes book on the atom bomb about once a year or two, ever since you recommended it to me in the 90s. Back when we used to go to Casino Morango and break the bank, then blow a few grand on Denny's in Yucaipa. And, yes, Johnny Von Neumann knows all the answers.