[pjc50]

I'm too old for this: not only am I not going to get called up, I also remember the Cold War, where everyone really did think there was a significant risk of a nuclear exchange at any time.

Mind you, the logic of MAD was a lot more .. logical? The canonical example of a cold game theoretic perspective leading combined with enough irrational paranoia to make an unstable situation.

We're more likely to have a war over a dumb tweet.

[cogman10]

It had logic to it. The issue is that the same logic that powered MAD led to WW1.

In short, everyone had treaties signed with everyone else which effectively guaranteed a WW if any nation attacked another nation. The thinking being "nobody would ever start a war because of what it'd lead to".

MAD suffers the same problem, one demented leader can end all life by being irrational.