EST 202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Mutual Assured Destruction, Civil Engineering, Cybernetics
3 Dec 2017
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Ties between war and technology: tools and warfare. War: essential human trait? (see hjorth ch 1) Tools: deter(cid:373)i(cid:374)ed (cid:271)y (cid:449)ar? (cid:894) to(cid:374)e age, bro(cid:374)ze age, iro(cid:374) age (cid:895) Arms race: technology necessary to preserve civilization (cid:862)ci(cid:448)il e(cid:374)gi(cid:374)eeri(cid:374)g(cid:863) al(cid:373)ost al(cid:449)ays (cid:449)ar-related. Roman roads: most technologically advanced machines: warships. Archimedes: greatest early scientist-engineer, killed at the siege of syracuse by romans, designed many war items. Perfect weapon: stirrup: attila the hun mongol empire ~ 400-1400 ce, cavalry, knights-in-armor. Incendiary of unknown composition: substances mixed, pressurized, heated, burst into flame, resist dowsing. Invented !675 ce; kept constantinople free for about 500 years. Perfect weapon: longbow: accurate over 200+ yards, rapid fire (10/min, penetrate armor (agincourt, etc. , needed extensive practice (replaced by guns, ~1600. Perfect weapon: atomic bomb: so destructive it precludes use (cid:862)mutually assured destru(cid:272)tio(cid:374)(cid:863, cold war (war by proxy) Great generals from the past could not be successful today. I(cid:374)tellige(cid:374)(cid:272)e, surprise, (cid:373)a(cid:374)eu(cid:448)er, (cid:272)o(cid:374)(cid:272)e(cid:374)tratio(cid:374) of for(cid:272)e, terrai(cid:374), .
