Only if you completely ignore The Colossus.
“By the end of the war, 10 of the computers had been built for the British War Department, and they played an extremely significant role in the defeat of Nazi Germany, by virtually eliminating the ability of German Admiral Durnetz to sink American convoys, by undermining German General Irwin Rommel in Northern Africa, and by confusing the Nazis about exactly where the American Invasion at Normandy France, was actually going to take place.”
I.E. 10 computers rendered the entire German navy essentially worthless. I’d call that a ‘supreme advantage’ in naval military terms.
http://www.acsa2000.net/a_computer_saved_the_world.htm
“The Colossus played a crucial role in D-Day. By understanding where the Germans had the bulk of their troops, the Allies could decide which beaches to storm and what misinformation to spread to keep the landings a surprise.”
http://kessler.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/eniac/
Sure, it didn’t blow people up into little bits like an atomic bomb, but who cares? It stopped OUR guys getting blown up into little bits, and also devastated the opposing side’s military intelligence and command/control worldwide. It’s rather difficult to measure the lives that weren’t killed, and the starvation and undersupply that didn’t happen.
Arguably, algorithmic approaches had a war-winning level of influence even earlier:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimmermann_Telegram.
Anonymous.
I had a similar problem during my PhD. Basically I had to be a workaholic in order to get through it. However, I still wanted to have some kind of life and occasionally relax my brain. I found that when I tried to watch a DVD, I would either have an idea, or I would start feeling guilty about not working. And then I’d stop watching the DVD. Gradually this made me not want to watch films any more, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to sit through the film in a single sitting without having either workaholic guilt, or a distractingly useful idea.
My solution was cinemas. Whenever I felt like I needed a distraction, I would go the cinema with some friends. By paying actual cash and having only a fixed time available to ‘enjoy myself’, my brain somehow decided ‘well, I’m not going to waste this money by walking out to do some work!’. So, I was able to enjoy full length films without considering the possibility of working.
I took a notebook in my pocket, of course, in case a truly amazing idea came mid-film, but thankfully it never did. Besides, the shower room proved to be a reliable source of ideas … I just wish someone could invent a decent waterproof notepad :-)
I can also recommend vigourous exercise such as martial arts. Although you sacrifice time, you gain improved health and mood, and that’s important for the long run...
Anonymous.