3 ms·

>Nothing is made, much is destroyed. A huge amount of technological development occurred during WW2. The jet engine, rocket and nuclear energy all spring to m

>Nothing is made, much is destroyed. A huge amount of technological development occurred during WW2. The jet engine, rocket and nuclear energy all spring to mind.

ncmncm 5y ago
All were thought of before, and just got funded during. A lot of people now dead would punch you in the nose for suggesting those things justified their suffering. Creation of nuclear weapons does not go on the plus side of the ledger.
- AussieWog93 5y ago
  >Creation of nuclear weapons does not go on the plus side of the ledger. I never said that - I specifically stated "nuclear power" in response to the claim that "nothing is made" during wartime. >A lot of people now dead would punch you in the nose for suggesting those things justified their suffering. I didn't even imply that, and no reasonable person acting in good faith could reach the conclusion that you did.
  - tome 5y ago
    And see also https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27336826 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27336826 for evidence of creative destruction (subject to the same scepticism that applies in this thread, of course).
  - inglor_cz 5y ago
    The question whether wars actually improve our technological knowledge is fascinating and complex. There is no doubt that the threat of being murdered by another bunch of people concentrates the minds a lot. You will do your utmost not to get yourself and your loved ones killed, which means a lot of technological improvements in order to win the war, or at least force the enemy to negotiate a ceasefire. On the other hand, several future Einsteins, Flemings and Korolevs might just get flattened to bloody pulp in the trenches at the age of 18, before they even had a chance to show their intellectual capacity. That is a major loss, too, and one whose true dimension cannot be guessed.

3 ms·

>Nothing is made, much is destroyed. A huge amount of technological development occurred during WW2. The jet engine, rocket and nuclear energy all spring to m

by AussieWog93 5y ago

>Nothing is made, much is destroyed. A huge amount of technological development occurred during WW2. The jet engine, rocket and nuclear energy all spring to mind.

ncmncm 5y ago
All were thought of before, and just got funded during. A lot of people now dead would punch you in the nose for suggesting those things justified their suffering. Creation of nuclear weapons does not go on the plus side of the ledger.
- AussieWog93 5y ago
  >Creation of nuclear weapons does not go on the plus side of the ledger. I never said that - I specifically stated "nuclear power" in response to the claim that "nothing is made" during wartime. >A lot of people now dead would punch you in the nose for suggesting those things justified their suffering. I didn't even imply that, and no reasonable person acting in good faith could reach the conclusion that you did.
  - tome 5y ago
    And see also https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27336826 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27336826 for evidence of creative destruction (subject to the same scepticism that applies in this thread, of course).
  - inglor_cz 5y ago
    The question whether wars actually improve our technological knowledge is fascinating and complex. There is no doubt that the threat of being murdered by another bunch of people concentrates the minds a lot. You will do your utmost not to get yourself and your loved ones killed, which means a lot of technological improvements in order to win the war, or at least force the enemy to negotiate a ceasefire. On the other hand, several future Einsteins, Flemings and Korolevs might just get flattened to bloody pulp in the trenches at the age of 18, before they even had a chance to show their intellectual capacity. That is a major loss, too, and one whose true dimension cannot be guessed.