The Cold War and nuclearisation provided new impetus for game theory. Between 1950 and 1991, eyeball-to-eyeball situations that almost triggered a nuclear war occurred every so often, during the Korean War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, for instance. There was also a significant chance of launching nukes by accident, or in error, after mistakenly assuming the adversary had launched.
Even 75 years after Hiroshima, nobody has a credible defence against nuclear strikes. If nukes are ever used, they guarantee huge loss of life and utter physical destruction. Mutually assured destruction (MAD) became a catchphrase once both sides possessed three-strike capability (the
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper
