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wellerstein's profile
Alex Wellerstein
Alex Wellerstein
Alex Wellerstein
Verified account
@wellerstein

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Alex WellersteinVerified account

@wellerstein

Historian of science, secrecy, and nuclear weapons. Professor of STS at @FollowStevens. UC Berkeley alum with a Harvard PhD. NUKEMAP creator. Coder and web dev.

Hoboken, NJ / NYC
blog.nuclearsecrecy.com
Joined September 2011

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    1. Alex Wellerstein‏Verified account @wellerstein 3 Jan 2018
      • Report Tweet

      Because I've been getting a lot of question about the term "nuclear button" lately... here is my post from the @Radiolab episode we did about "The Button" from a couple years back:http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2014/12/15/button-isnt/ …

      3 replies 49 retweets 97 likes
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    2. Alex Wellerstein‏Verified account @wellerstein 3 Jan 2018
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      The earliest reference to a "button that can destroy a country/the world" that I found was from 1896 — starring Thomas Edison, "The wrecker of worlds"!pic.twitter.com/8bystIuiGE

      2 replies 15 retweets 30 likes
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    3. Alex Wellerstein‏Verified account @wellerstein 4 Jan 2018
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      Which is to say explicitly, I think William Safire was wrong that the idea of "the button" is a reference to obscure WWII bomber hardware. The trope is *much* older, but was easily and almost instantly grafted onto the atomic age. CC: @goldmanrussell re: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/03/world/asia/nuclear-button-trump-north-korea.html?_r=0 …

      2 replies 8 retweets 10 likes
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    4. Chateau Picard Sparkling Wine‏ @Amanda_Kerri 4 Jan 2018
      • Report Tweet
      Replying to @wellerstein @Radiolab @GoldmanRussell

      So quick question for ya, is there any truth to the tale that the default codes were left to 0000000 or something like that?

      2 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
      Alex Wellerstein‏Verified account @wellerstein 4 Jan 2018
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      Replying to @Amanda_Kerri @Radiolab @GoldmanRussell

      Bruce Blair says there was truth to it, the USAF disputes it. I don't know the answer.http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/01/21/air-force-swears-our-nuke-launch-code-was-never-00000000/ …

      10:24 AM - 4 Jan 2018
      1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
        1. Chateau Picard Sparkling Wine‏ @Amanda_Kerri 4 Jan 2018
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          Replying to @wellerstein @Radiolab @GoldmanRussell

          Having spent time in the military, I gotta go with Blair...

          0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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