4 ms·

DARPA exists because the military wants wizards working for it. The military often describes what units do as various parts of the spear, "tip of the spear" etc

by bane 10y ago

DARPA exists because the military wants wizards working for it. The military often describes what units do as various parts of the spear, "tip of the spear" etc. Science is capable of not only producing a better spear, but changing the paradigm entirely. In not even the most rabid fever dreams of generals would an army without science be capable of even a fraction of the capabilities of an army with. - Armies fight on their stomachs - so science produced stay good food that lasts under any condition for years with special storage, comes in a variety of menus and even provides for hot menus without the use of fire [1] - Soldiers need better tactical capabilities - so science let them see in the dark [2], become stronger [3], gave them perfect aim [4], gave them god-like ability to peel back the fog of war [5] and made them nearly indestructible [6][7] - Generals needed more powerful options - so science created nuclear weapons [8], the ability to see from atop Mount Olympus[9][10], physics bending intelligence collection capabilities[11], ships that stay beneath the sea for months [12], combat aircraft that don't put the pilots at risk[13], and tanks that can survive in any condition [14], and soon the ability to harness energy to knock enemy munitions from the sky[15] or to through matter at many times the speed of sound using invisible forces[16] This combat magnification extends to logistics, information processing, chemical warfare (and defense), biological warfare (and defense), intelligence collection and so on. An equivalent force from the 19th century would be turned into pulp by a force from today. And our forces probably wouldn't even be in harms way during the major exchange. Significantly advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and scientists and engineers who develop it are the wizards of modern times. DARPA merely tries to give wizards a place to hone their craft. Sometimes their work leaks out in the public and we're touched by this magic to make the internet, or use GPS, safer food, make medicine more life saving and so on. Sometimes we're on the receiving end of dark magic and our cities get turned to dust. 1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meal,_Ready-to-Eat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meal,_Ready-to-Eat 2 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_vision_device https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_vision_device 3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViL4bAUGuGY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViL4bAUGuGY 4 - http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2013/05/15/184223110/new-rifle-on-sale http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2013/05/15/184... 5 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11th_Reconnaissance_Squadron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11th_Reconnaissance_Squadron 6 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQi7iknSKy0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQi7iknSKy0 7 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC2pnjN4qT8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC2pnjN4qT8 8 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon 9 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_aerial_vehicle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_aerial_vehicle 10 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconnaissance_satellite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconnaissance_satellite 11 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON 12 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_submarine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_submarine 13 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_combat_aerial_vehicle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_combat_aerial_vehicle 14 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_Abrams https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_Abrams 15 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed-energy_weapon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed-energy_weapon 16 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4ZqfEJTGzw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4ZqfEJTGzw

k__ 10y ago
My hope is that their research will accumulate to a state that war isn't an option anymore.
- ysavir 10y ago
  You mean, replaced by the utter destruction of all things Earth? There isn't really much of another alternative to war.
  - vinceguidry 10y ago
    War gets replaced by the threat of war. You fight a big, awful war, and everybody hates it so much that there's political will to make everyone put down their weapons and focus on peace. War equalizes everything. It turns princes into paupers and paupers into princes. Enormous amounts of stored wealth simply evaporate and everything becomes the communal property of the state. You see this cycle all throughout history. Wealth and inequality build up, people complain, threaten war, and to allay them the elites throw a few ladders out. This creates not just elite families, but elite sections of society. Once you have sections of society hating each other, then you have the makings of war. People constantly worry about it, but we're still on the downswing from World War 2. Unfortunately we have not yet reached the point to where war threatens human survival. Nuclear weapons are just not powerful enough. What I am hoping for is that humanity has figured out the trick of de-escalation. That the US can project power all across the globe is a huge improvement. We can bring overwhelming force to any situation we find ourselves in. Instead of worrying about war, we now worry about our special forces personnel. Huge win. This keeps any one side from really gaining the power to threaten the broader peace of the region. Sure, right now we're not all that great at driving political goals through force projection, just look at Iraq, but we should get better at it over time.
    - ysavir 10y ago
      So when you say "replaced by the threat of war", what you really mean is having one power assert uncontested control. I consider that to be a very one sided perspective... Yes, the US can exercise power all across the globe, but have you seen how other countries respond to that power? It might prevent military battles, but terrorism is still war, though fought with different tactics. And as far as having a single power goes... That's not a guaranteed promise, either. Look at ancient Rome: They achieved (more or less) unquestionable power and authority over the Mediterranean, and that simply led to decades of civil war. People living together in peace is a myth.

by bane 10y ago

k__ 10y ago

My hope is that their research will accumulate to a state that war isn't an option anymore.

ysavir 10y ago
You mean, replaced by the utter destruction of all things Earth? There isn't really much of another alternative to war.
- vinceguidry 10y ago
  War gets replaced by the threat of war. You fight a big, awful war, and everybody hates it so much that there's political will to make everyone put down their weapons and focus on peace. War equalizes everything. It turns princes into paupers and paupers into princes. Enormous amounts of stored wealth simply evaporate and everything becomes the communal property of the state. You see this cycle all throughout history. Wealth and inequality build up, people complain, threaten war, and to allay them the elites throw a few ladders out. This creates not just elite families, but elite sections of society. Once you have sections of society hating each other, then you have the makings of war. People constantly worry about it, but we're still on the downswing from World War 2. Unfortunately we have not yet reached the point to where war threatens human survival. Nuclear weapons are just not powerful enough. What I am hoping for is that humanity has figured out the trick of de-escalation. That the US can project power all across the globe is a huge improvement. We can bring overwhelming force to any situation we find ourselves in. Instead of worrying about war, we now worry about our special forces personnel. Huge win. This keeps any one side from really gaining the power to threaten the broader peace of the region. Sure, right now we're not all that great at driving political goals through force projection, just look at Iraq, but we should get better at it over time.
  - ysavir 10y ago
    So when you say "replaced by the threat of war", what you really mean is having one power assert uncontested control. I consider that to be a very one sided perspective... Yes, the US can exercise power all across the globe, but have you seen how other countries respond to that power? It might prevent military battles, but terrorism is still war, though fought with different tactics. And as far as having a single power goes... That's not a guaranteed promise, either. Look at ancient Rome: They achieved (more or less) unquestionable power and authority over the Mediterranean, and that simply led to decades of civil war. People living together in peace is a myth.