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dripdry45 • today at 12:00 PM • 3 replies • view on HN

By this logic people can justify almost anything. I can say that we should’ve sent dinosaur clones to the moon because otherwise something bad is going to happen. Then we send the dinosaurs to the moon and nothing bad happens, and it justifies the action.

It’s the same insanity gun owners use justifying bringing weapons everywhere they go.

I simply don’t buy the argument, though I do see your point about deterrence


Replies

bell-cot • today at 1:39 PM

Might you have heard the old saw "Any idiot can build a bridge that stands, but it takes an engineer to build a bridge that barely stands"?

Military spending is similar - you want security at the minimum cost.

Unfortunately, military conflicts (real and potential) have vastly more complexity and uncertainty than the gravity, wind, traffic loads, etc. that a bridge has to withstand. And even a nation's best experts (generally its senior military officers) generally have motives at odds with minimum-cost security for their nation.

wffurr • today at 1:06 PM

Si vis pacem para bellum.

shilgapira • today at 1:30 PM

No snark intended, but if you see his point then you do seem to buy his argument