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Comment Re:Countries without nuclear weapons get invaded (Score 1) 228

A Japanese battleship of that era could travel at 27 knots (about 31 mph) at flank speed. Every navy does things a bit differently but a reasonable cruising speed would be at 2/3rds power, so at 20mph they could have arrived there 15 hours after the initial strike.

Yes, it could have. I'm having trouble coming up with hard figures, but I believe if it did so, it then wouldn't have enough fuel to get home.

Comment Re:Countries without nuclear weapons get invaded (Score 1) 228

They did not have "a whole fleet there already." For an airstrike, the fleet only had to get in airstrike range, and they were barely able to manage that. For an invasion, the fleet would have to actually go all the way to Hawaii, and maintain a supply line at that distance. No, it would've been too much.

Comment Re:Given that humans still struggle... (Score 1) 129

I think part of it at least is the certainty. Switching the trolley to another track will certainly save the four people. No chance it won't. But pushing a fat man into its path? Might work, might not. And it would be truly awful if it didn't work. Even if the tester assures you it will work, your mind still looks at the situation and just doesn't know.

Comment Re:Countries without nuclear weapons get invaded (Score 1) 228

Close but not quite right. There's not really any oil in the Phillippines. What happened was this--Japan invaded French Indochina (later to be Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia). In response the US placed an embargo of oil and steel on Japan. The US at that time was a major oil exporter from the fields in Texas and Japan had been getting much of their oil from the US. They decided that they would make it up with the oil, not from the Phillippines, but rather the Dutch East Indies, which was also a major oil source. To get that oil, they were going to need to militarily occupy it. Japan didn't think they could get away with that without pulling the US in, so they decided they would strike the US first as part of the plan. They hit Hawaii, the Phillippines (not because of oil but because it was far too good a forward base to leave in US hands) *and* and the Dutch East Indies all at once, conquering both the Phillippines and the East Indies.

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