Advances by Way of War

War is a very good way for our society to advance its ideas and technology. War lets leaders with newideas rise to power, gives them resources to work with and stimulates a aggressiveness to reach the goal before the other side does, this aggressiveness often ends with success.

I'll use WW2 as a example.Some events, ideas, and technological advances that occured between the years 1940-1946 or were the results of events during WW2.

In 1946 the first computer was made.In the rush to beat german scientists the Manhattan Project succeded in creating the first atomic bomb, from a secret informant the soviets learned the secrets of how to make a atomic bomb, due to this the cold war was initiated and the two countries, with greater fervor than before tried to gain a advantage over the other. They proceeded to make weapons of greater destruction than ever before. On all planes the defensive and offensive power was accelerated. The hydrogen bomb, chemicals and deadly virii, the race to space, man on the moon, Fidel Castro, and many other advances in computers and other areas were a direct product of this.

During the war: In 1942 the first nuclear reactor was created, in 1944 DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) was discovered, the United Nations was assembled in 1945, V-1 and V-2 rockets and other great weapons of war were created, and itgenerally advanced the world.

Wars can only advance so far before they do more destruction than good. Right now we have enough nuclear firepower to destroy the world many times over. If atomic and nuclear,chemical and biological weapons are not restricted the next world war (WW3) will surely result in near total destruction, and perhaps even armaggedon.

Dyrlin