I don’t have much time for Eliezer’s point regarding ‘once you’ve used nukes in anger you can never go back’. Sure, the world was stunned, and rightly so, but what did we learn about humanity that we didn’t already know? The most powerful, secular, free nation in the world built a weapon of terrifying potential and used it straight away. That’s what we are, and now we know it. Silver lining? We’d better hope so.
‘Was it right or wrong?’ is a wrong question. It was deemed right at the time, and so it happened. Anyone who claims that they have looked over the evidence and have decided that actually, no, it was the wrong choice, is wasting their time. Equally so if you think it was right. What’s important is what we take from it, what lessons we learn from it; the part that has yet to be written.
So, how do we make sure that next time, it’s perceived to be the wrong decision?
Politics, yuck. Stop it please.
I don’t have much time for Eliezer’s point regarding ‘once you’ve used nukes in anger you can never go back’. Sure, the world was stunned, and rightly so, but what did we learn about humanity that we didn’t already know? The most powerful, secular, free nation in the world built a weapon of terrifying potential and used it straight away. That’s what we are, and now we know it. Silver lining? We’d better hope so.
‘Was it right or wrong?’ is a wrong question. It was deemed right at the time, and so it happened. Anyone who claims that they have looked over the evidence and have decided that actually, no, it was the wrong choice, is wasting their time. Equally so if you think it was right. What’s important is what we take from it, what lessons we learn from it; the part that has yet to be written.
So, how do we make sure that next time, it’s perceived to be the wrong decision?