... it sounds as if Szilard actually had little to lose. He had already pre-positioned his thoughts just like his suitcases. He says he sought to have a lifestyle in which he was "able to move at a moment’s notice". He says this was a result of World War One. It sounds as if he had gone through at least one 'emergency' that required imme…
... it sounds as if Szilard actually had little to lose. He had already pre-positioned his thoughts just like his suitcases. He says he sought to have a lifestyle in which he was "able to move at a moment’s notice". He says this was a result of World War One. It sounds as if he had gone through at least one 'emergency' that required immediate flight during those earlier times.
Also he could perhaps return if the situation improved; if it had been a mistake. If that was important to him He would have had time to consider this within the calculations regarding taking flight. Szilard was also obviously an extremely intelligent person. Felt that he could rely on his decisions. This entire subject, is as usual for your writings, very interesting. You mentioned your Boy Scout tra[ning. Although limited, you were instructed and practiced for a response under distress and immediacy. this of course is the advantage of drills Public service information etc. Even a little training goes a long way in an emergency. I also appreciate how you mentioned all of the stories and popular culture regarding heroism . Perhaps this simply comes down to a voice in your head saying that you must do something, that you must move forward, that you must help . On the core subject of nuclear war, it suddenly strikes me that the third option between fight or flight should probably be considered 'hide'. This ironically is a direct correlation with basic civil defense actions. Just make sure you hide somewhere with enough reinforced concrete and food and water for two weeks.
He did have some "roots" to lose — he tried, and failed, to convince his parents to leave Hungary, for example. But I agree that he appears to have had one foot out the door. Supposedly he stayed that way his whole life, always with suitcases packed. I think it is an interesting mindset. Living life in that way can't be great, psychologically, and must get in the way of relationships of all sorts. Heck, you couldn't even invest in a dog if that's how you approached life.
And, yeah, this is one of the (several) reasons I am interested in Civil Defense as a topic — this question about the value of preparation and "thinking the unthinkable." Not because I think that it would work the way the planners assumed it would (many of the plans were, in their own way, deeply ignorant or dishonest about the actual conditions that would occur, full of ludicrous assumptions, usually about how society would behave), but because it does help us think about the potential realities of something like nuclear war, and they are quite different from the popular imaginations of them.
... it sounds as if Szilard actually had little to lose. He had already pre-positioned his thoughts just like his suitcases. He says he sought to have a lifestyle in which he was "able to move at a moment’s notice". He says this was a result of World War One. It sounds as if he had gone through at least one 'emergency' that required immediate flight during those earlier times.
Also he could perhaps return if the situation improved; if it had been a mistake. If that was important to him He would have had time to consider this within the calculations regarding taking flight. Szilard was also obviously an extremely intelligent person. Felt that he could rely on his decisions. This entire subject, is as usual for your writings, very interesting. You mentioned your Boy Scout tra[ning. Although limited, you were instructed and practiced for a response under distress and immediacy. this of course is the advantage of drills Public service information etc. Even a little training goes a long way in an emergency. I also appreciate how you mentioned all of the stories and popular culture regarding heroism . Perhaps this simply comes down to a voice in your head saying that you must do something, that you must move forward, that you must help . On the core subject of nuclear war, it suddenly strikes me that the third option between fight or flight should probably be considered 'hide'. This ironically is a direct correlation with basic civil defense actions. Just make sure you hide somewhere with enough reinforced concrete and food and water for two weeks.
He did have some "roots" to lose — he tried, and failed, to convince his parents to leave Hungary, for example. But I agree that he appears to have had one foot out the door. Supposedly he stayed that way his whole life, always with suitcases packed. I think it is an interesting mindset. Living life in that way can't be great, psychologically, and must get in the way of relationships of all sorts. Heck, you couldn't even invest in a dog if that's how you approached life.
And, yeah, this is one of the (several) reasons I am interested in Civil Defense as a topic — this question about the value of preparation and "thinking the unthinkable." Not because I think that it would work the way the planners assumed it would (many of the plans were, in their own way, deeply ignorant or dishonest about the actual conditions that would occur, full of ludicrous assumptions, usually about how society would behave), but because it does help us think about the potential realities of something like nuclear war, and they are quite different from the popular imaginations of them.