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Despite, not thanks to the government. They surely were very competitive, but that was not due to intellectual pursuit. Science was seen as valuable to weaponiz
by shmerl 7y ago
Despite, not thanks to the government. They surely were very competitive, but that was not due to intellectual pursuit. Science was seen as valuable to weaponize, not to make life better.
If you want examples of how government officials handled progress, see:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nedelin_catastrophe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nedelin_catastrophe
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ybnj4jcnwg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ybnj4jcnwg
The above catastrophe occurred, due to government disregarding safety warnings and pushing personnel to do the test before some official anniversary event.
So I'd differentiate between scientists themselves and the regime, which was hardly intellectual.
- Tade0 7y agoScience was seen as valuable to weaponize I don't think they were much of an outlier in this. Some of the greatest accomplishments of the US were done either to compete with the Soviet Union, or to make better weapons.
- mirimir 7y agoThe tragic irony of the Cold War (and maybe all wars) was that both sides saw themselves as threatened, and that they were being justifiably defensive.