> What is the temperature of nuclear war? You miss my point. A thermometer would be a better analogy than a clock, because a thermometer measures something tha

> What is the temperature of nuclear war? You miss my point. A thermometer would be a better analogy than a clock, because a thermometer measures something that can go up and down, whereas a clock is expected to move inexorably towards midnight. And the temperature of a nuclear war is as arbitrary as using midnight as the time of a nuclear war. > [...] an answer to the question, "How close are we to nuclear war?" The nuclear scientists could say "The midnight clock is set to 7 minutes." ...which is entirely meaningless, so it doesn't answer the question at all. > people could understand what it meant if it moved forwards or backwards. Clocks don't normally move backwards. Hence, thermometer. > It was never about measurement. It was always a symbol. I get that. I'm just saying is a really poorly thought out symbol.