In the cold war, the Pentagon continually did calculations to see who would be better/worse off after a nuclear confrontation. There were people who thought that if the calculus favored the US at all that was enough to justify a nuclear war.

For Dr. Strangelove Kubrick got a lot of inspiration from the Rand Corporation and other ghoulish orgs and people who were pressing that concept. An example…

Herman Kahn

Herman Kahn (February 15, 1922 – July 7, 1983) was an American physicist and a founding member of the Hudson Institute, regarded as one of the preeminent futurists of the latter part of the twentieth century. He originally came to prominence as a military strategist and systems theorist while employed at the RAND Corporation. He analyzed the likely consequences of nuclear war and recommended ways to improve survivability during the Cold War.

Kahn posited the idea of a “winnable” nuclear exchange in his 1960 book On Thermonuclear War for which he was one of the historical inspirations for the title character of Stanley Kubrick’s classic black comedy film satire Dr. Strangelove. In his commentary for Fail Safe, director Sidney Lumet remarked that the Professor Groeteschele character is also based on Herman Kahn. Kahn’s theories contributed to the development of the nuclear strategy of the United States.

I believe he was the first person to use “scenario” in its modern meaning. He needed a way to describe the future in stories as if written by people in the future. He used scenarios to suggest that a nuclear war could be won.

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Ninja edit

I just realized he was a shitposter for evil. He just made shit up to rationalize apocalyptic mass death, destruction, and suffering.

“Look, guys - if the Soviets kill x tens of millions of us but we kill y tens of millions of them - we win. Lemme explain…”