Archive for December, 2010

On communicability

Saturday, December 18th, 2010

Hey, here’s a riddle: what’s more dangerous than an al Qaeda member with a plane ticket and a shoe bomb? (more…)

On technological surprise

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

Oftentimes I hear the phrase “technological surprise” used by military planners. It means how can we expect the unexpected? How can we know what might be coming over the horizon that will disrupt our carefully made plans. This is especially true with respect to ‘asymmetric’ threats, such as bioterrorism or biowarfare, where there is the possibility that a key scientific or technology finding might have large consequences. (more…)