Southern Industrial
13-11-2004, 02:42
I have a hypothetical situation to discuss:
During the Cold War, the Soviets were breifly considering a doomsday device. They planned to fill the hull of a ship entirely with fissable material and have it float around Russia. If ever the USSR were to be attacked, the ship's radimeters would immediately pick it up and detonate. If the ship detonates, the world will end.
Suppose the Communists accually built this ship and it is currently operating north of their nation. The world is gearing up for a nuclear war-- the lids are off the silos, the president is looking up launch codes. You are in the Artic Circle with a specially designed cannon. This cannon fires a special shell, that, upon hitting the ship carrying the doomsday device, the boat will sink. The catch is, the shell has a 50% chance of detonating the bomb and ending the world. Do you fire the cannon?
During the Cold War, the Soviets were breifly considering a doomsday device. They planned to fill the hull of a ship entirely with fissable material and have it float around Russia. If ever the USSR were to be attacked, the ship's radimeters would immediately pick it up and detonate. If the ship detonates, the world will end.
Suppose the Communists accually built this ship and it is currently operating north of their nation. The world is gearing up for a nuclear war-- the lids are off the silos, the president is looking up launch codes. You are in the Artic Circle with a specially designed cannon. This cannon fires a special shell, that, upon hitting the ship carrying the doomsday device, the boat will sink. The catch is, the shell has a 50% chance of detonating the bomb and ending the world. Do you fire the cannon?