University of California, Los Angeles (BS) California Institute of Technology (MS)
Occupations
Futurist
Military strategist
Systems theorist
Known for
Nuclear strategy
Notable work
On Thermonuclear War
Herman Kahn (February 15, 1922 – July 7, 1983) was an American physicist and a founding member of the Hudson Institute, regarded as one of the preeminent futurists of the latter part of the twentieth century. He originally came to prominence as a military strategist and systems theorist while employed at the RAND Corporation. He analyzed the likely consequences of nuclear war and recommended ways to improve survivability during the Cold War. Kahn posited the idea of a "winnable" nuclear exchange in his 1960 book On Thermonuclear War for which he was one of the historical inspirations for the title character of Stanley Kubrick's classic black comedy film satire Dr. Strangelove.[1] In his commentary for Fail Safe, director Sidney Lumet remarked that the Professor Groeteschele character is also based on Herman Kahn.[2]
Kahn's theories contributed to the development of the nuclear strategy of the United States.
^Paul Boyer, 'Dr. Strangelove' in Mark C. Carnes (ed.), Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies, New York, 1996.
^Fail Safe (DVD). Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. 2000.
HermanKahn (February 15, 1922 – July 7, 1983) was an American physicist and a founding member of the Hudson Institute, regarded as one of the preeminent...
On Thermonuclear War is a book by HermanKahn, a military strategist at the RAND Corporation, although it was written only a year before he left RAND...
1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist HermanKahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation. Kahn was a physicist and military consultant known...
French poet Hannah Kahn (1911–1988), American poet, born in New York City Harold L. Kahn (1930–2018), American historian HermanKahn (1922–1983), American...
Chief strategist HermanKahn also posited the idea of a "winnable" nuclear exchange in his 1960 book On Thermonuclear War. This led to Kahn's being one of...
BosWash is a name coined by futurist HermanKahn in a 1967 essay describing a theoretical United States megalopolis extending from the metropolitan area...
Dictionary. Kahn, H. (2011). On Thermonuclear War. War and Peace Research. Transaction Publishers. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-4128-1559-8. Kahn, Herman (1960). On...
Kriegsmarine's Schnellboot. "Oheka" is an acronym of letters from Kahn's full name, Otto HermanKahn. He had previously named his New York estate, built on Long...
found in The Next 200 Years: A Scenario for America and the World, by HermanKahn et al., published in 1976, p. 2. ""Crisis of Confidence" Speech (July...
We also quote an earlier pioneering article by Theodore E. Harris and HermanKahn, published in 1951, using mean-field genetic-type Monte Carlo methods...
by Samuel Cohen of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 1960 – HermanKahn publishes the book On Thermonuclear War. November 1961 – In Fortune magazine...
popularized during the Cold War by two important books: On Escalation (HermanKahn, 1965) and Escalation and the Nuclear Option (Bernard Brodie, 1966)....
French ministers in Tokyo earlier in the year. In fact, this followed the HermanKahn lecture of 25 September 2013 in which he outlined his foreign policy...
molecular chemistry and computational physics by Theodore E. Harris and HermanKahn in 1951, Marshall N. Rosenbluth and Arianna W. Rosenbluth in 1955, and...
him to the Hudson Institute, the conservative think tank founded by HermanKahn, to develop a plausible scenario. Milius saw the story as a Third World...
appeared that outlined the plans of Nelson Rockefeller, Edward Teller, HermanKahn, and Chet Holifield for an enormous network of concrete-lined underground...
weapons are simply one more rung on the ladder of escalation pioneered by HermanKahn. This leads to a number of other conclusions regarding the potential...
nuclear strike, Second strike Force de frappe Game theory, wargaming HermanKahn Madman theory Massive retaliation Military strategy Minimal deterrence...
abbreviated "MAD", was coined by Donald Brennan, a strategist working in HermanKahn's Hudson Institute in 1962. Brennan conceived the acronym cynically, spelling...
the region, including his state of Rhode Island. In 1967, futurists HermanKahn and Anthony Wiener coined the term "BosWash" to predict that the region...
Korean War. In his 1962 book, Thinking About the Unthinkable, futurist HermanKahn argued that to "look a little crazy" might be an effective way to induce...
criticized the doctrine as too aggressive and identical to the first strike. HermanKahn stressed that many military planners adhering to the "splendid first...
needed] Lindsey Grant accuses cornucopians, especially Julian Simon and HermanKahn, of making arguments with logical flaws, omissions and oversights and...
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