A toast to Stanislav Petrov

Little did I know that Stanislav Petrov is a world hero, and little did I know how close we all came to global apocalypse on Sep 26, 1983.  That would have been just before my 10th birthday.  All told, I owe this man 25 drinks, plus several billion more for each man, woman and child saved.

In summary:  Stanislav Petrov intentionally mis-identified a early warning strike by the United States against Soviet Russia.  This early warning strike was identified as an inbound nuclear assault.  Post-event analysis discovered a critical defect in the Soviet’s early warning systems which were a great embarrassment to them at all levels.  In the Cold War era, had Stanislav reported a incoming nuclear strike, as his sensors told him that he should report, there’s a very good chance that you and I would not be alive right now to have this quaint interchange of ideas.

Thanks to Charlie Stross for posting this gem.

I plan to mark Sep 26 on my Calendar hence forth and offer a prayer and thanks to this man who should be remembered by everyone.