Stanislav Petrov, a Soviet officer who averted nuclear war, has died
When "just doing my job" saves the world.<p><i>“My cozy armchair felt like a red-hot frying pan and my legs went limp. I felt like I couldn't even stand up. That's how nervous I was when I was taking this decision,” he told RT.</i><p>How well would any of us have done in that situation? It's tempting to think that we'd have said no, don't launch. But picture yourself as a military commander, raised in that lifestyle. Then add the natural inclination to freeze up and make bad choices under pressure.<p>It's also a lesson in secrecy. We almost didn't hear about this story. It was kept secret for a decade. How many secrets are you sitting on, bound by your NDAs? Will you ever make the important ones public a decade later, or will you decide it's not your position, or that it might affect your career?<p>It's easy to rationalize that it isn't our position to say anything about what we know. But it's also too easy.<p>I wish it were possible to make a service that lets you upload encrypted notes that will be made public after your death. But those two requirements conflict.