Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes by Richard A. Clarke, R.P. Eddy

[gilda_elise]

Millions of lives lost to catastrophes—natural and man-made—could have been saved by the advance warnings of experts. Can we find those prescient people before the next catastrophe strikes? Two CEOs and White House national security veterans reveal insider views of previous disasters, chilling insights on today’s threats to mankind, and a prescription to protect us

This is the story of the future of national security, threatening technologies, the US economy, and possibly the fate of civilization.

In Greek mythology Cassandra foresaw calamities, but was cursed by the gods to be ignored. Modern-day Cassandras clearly predicted the disasters of Katrina, Fukushima, the Great Recession, the rise of ISIS, and many others. Like her, they were ignored. There are others right now warning of impending disasters, but how do we know which warnings are likely to be right?

Through riveting explorations in a variety of fields, the authors uncover a method to separate the accurate Cassandras from the crazy doomsayers. They then investigate the experts who today are warning of future disasters—the threats from artificial intelligence, bio-hacking, mutating viruses, and more—and whose calls are not being heeded. Their penetrating insights are essential for anyone, any business, or any government that doesn’t want to be a blind victim to tomorrow’s catastrophe.

I’m very much of two minds about this book. While I agree with the authors regarding how often warnings are ignored–they’re not called Cassandras for nothing–I’m not sure that our government, probably not any government, will follow their advise regarding what to do about future warnings.

Even though many examples are given of when warnings were ignored, humans tend to disregard anything that’s not immediate, especially if a loss of money is involved. I don’t see that changing anytime soon, so I think we will continue to ignore warnings, focusing too much on when the warnings proved false, as if one negated the other.

Will this book change any minds? Will something be done about future catastrophes before they happen? Going by how climate change is being handled, I heartily doubt it.







Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.


1. ReDeus: Divine Tales
2. 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
3. The Exodus Quest
4. Troy: Shield Of Thunder
5. Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph
6. Hyperion
7. Thin Air
8. Gods and Generals
9. White Seed
10. The Killer Angels
11. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
12. Troy: Fall of Kings
13. The Last Full Measure
14. Gwendy's Button Box
15. We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy
16. Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition
17. The Mists of Avalon
18. In The Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman to Barack Obama
19. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
20. The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos #2)
21. The Lost Labyrinth
22. Autumn of the Black Snake: The Creation of the U.S. Army and the Invasion That Opened the West
23. A Brief History of Phoenix
24. Point of Contact
25. Gone for Soldiers: A Novel of the Mexican War
26. The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story
27. God: The Human Quest to Make Sense of the Divine
28. The Dog Master: A Novel of the First Dog
29. Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes

Comments

[tinny]

Like with all other predictions (economy, demography, stock prices) you can pick and choose after the fact who was right, and forget about all those who were wrong. I don't think there is a way to tell one doomsayer from another.

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

I think if you research the person, and the facts behind their predictions, you may get a good idea as to who is probably right. Like with climate change. But just hearing something and running with it, no, I don't think that's a good idea.