Mutually Assured Destruction, MAD, works only as long as it works; it does not know what to do if deterrence fails, for it envisions no defensive capabilities. A deterrent works until it is needed; then one needs defenses. — Jerry Pournelle Copy Share Image
I think it takes about a million words to make a writer. I mean that you're going to throw away. — Jerry Pournelle Copy Share Image
The American way of war is to build an army, then another, then a third, while building fleets. If the war is still on… — Jerry Pournelle Copy Share Image
You see, I used to do a certain amount of market research by going to the local drugstore and seeing what the truck drivers… — Jerry Pournelle Copy Share Image
A Dark Age is not just a period in which people no longer know how to do things. The real key is that people… — Jerry Pournelle Copy Share Image
Asimov was the reason why we changed some rules in the SFWA, and I'm not convinced we changed it for the best. — Jerry Pournelle Copy Share Image
We have for years been building a society in which everybody plunders everybody, and while we are weary of being plundered, we enjoy the… — Jerry Pournelle Copy Share Image
It's not only possible, but likely that the Nobel Prize in economics will go in alternate years to people who disagree on nearly everything… — Jerry Pournelle Copy Share Image
So, I guess the answer to your question is very few people can bring off a novel of the future because it's just so… — Jerry Pournelle Copy Share Image
Of course most people underestimate the warrior characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon and Norman peoples anyway. It takes a heap of piety to keep a… — Jerry Pournelle Copy Share Image
Gates has always understood Moore's Law better than anyone else in the industry. If you can make something run at all, get it out… — Jerry Pournelle Copy Share Image
“Funny thing about this world,” Adams said carefully. “Legally, a sovereign government can protect its interests pretty well as long as it doesn’t start… — Jerry Pournelle Copy Share Image
