The explosion of a single atom bomb, while massively catastrophic, wouldn't be "doomsday" in the same sense that a "use 'em or lose 'em" launch of a superpower's entire arsenal of ICBM's would be. Assuming that's the sort of Doomsday the Clock was meant to dramatize and warn against, we're, if anything, farther from the brink than we were in Cold War days.
Likelier than what?
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 08-11-04 8:26 AM
Likelier than even, than 50-50.
Posted by Bob | Link to this comment | 08-11-04 8:30 AM
Oh. I misread "than" as "that".
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 08-11-04 9:13 AM
The explosion of a single atom bomb, while massively catastrophic, wouldn't be "doomsday" in the same sense that a "use 'em or lose 'em" launch of a superpower's entire arsenal of ICBM's would be. Assuming that's the sort of Doomsday the Clock was meant to dramatize and warn against, we're, if anything, farther from the brink than we were in Cold War days.
Posted by son volt | Link to this comment | 08-12-04 10:32 AM
Yeah, good point.
Posted by Bob | Link to this comment | 08-12-04 10:45 AM