Stanislav Petrov, a Soviet officer who averted nuclear war, has died
When "just doing my job" saves the world.“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.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.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?It's easy to rationalize that it isn't our position to say anything about what we know. But it's also too easy.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.