--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The nuclear weapons on board just one of…" description: "\"“The nuclear weapons on board just one of our Trident submarines contain eight times the firepower expended in all of World War II.”\" — John Allen Paulos" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/john-allen-paulos-22241_nuclear-weapons_the-nuclear-weapons-on-board-just-one-of_841028.jpg" --- # The nuclear weapons on board just one of our Trident… ![“The nuclear weapons on board just one of our Trident submarines contain eight times the firepower expended in all of World War II.” quote by John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/john-allen-paulos-22241_nuclear-weapons_the-nuclear-weapons-on-board-just-one-of_841028.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/john-allen-paulos-22241_nuclear-weapons_the-nuclear-weapons-on-board-just-one-of_841028.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/john-allen-paulos-22241_nuclear-weapons_the-nuclear-weapons-on-board-just-one-of_841028.jpg) > ““The nuclear weapons on board just one of our Trident submarines contain eight times the firepower expended in all of World War II.”” [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A single modern submarine carries vastly more destructive power than all WWII weapons combined. **In simple terms:** One sub holds massive firepower. Key Takeaway Recognize the scale of modern arsenals. Themes nuclear deterrence technology power warfare history Mood serious reflective Type informative warning When to use this quote - defense policy debates - military budgeting - public awareness campaigns - educational curricula Key Concepts strategic balance mutually assured destruction escalation Questions to Reflect On - How does this concentration affect global security? - What responsibilities come with such power? A Different Perspective The quote may overstate without context of total war production. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nuclear weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-weapons/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/) [World war ii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war-ii/) ## Related quotes > [Certainly in the United States, you have a constituency in the form of the weapons laboratories, and you also have the branches of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/certainly-in-the-united-states-you-have-a-constituency-in-the-form-of/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [“And now submarines are armed with mass murder, our silly, only way of deterring mass murder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-now-submarines-are-armed-with-mass-murder-our-silly-only-way-of/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Cantonese will eat anything in the sky but airplanes, anything in the sea but submarines, and anything with four legs but the table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-bennett/cantonese-will-eat-anything-in-the-sky-but-airplanes-anything-in-the/) Amanda Bennett > [When I assumed command of the Pacific Fleet in 31 December, 1941; our submarines were already operating against the enemy, the only units of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-w-nimitz/when-i-assumed-command-of-the-pacific-fleet-in-31-december-1941-our/) [Chester W. Nimitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-w-nimitz/) > [In the Arctic I met some Russian sailors on a submarine and they chorused, "Gordon's alive!"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-blessed/in-the-arctic-i-met-some-russian-sailors-on-a-submarine-and-they/) [Brian Blessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-blessed/) > [My faith has helped me to adjust to life whether I was a small farm boy, a submarine officer, governor, president or an ex-president.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/my-faith-has-helped-me-to-adjust-to-life-whether-i-was-a-small-farm/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [ To work with Richard \[Ayoade\] is my favourite thing in the world. He is my favourite person. So, it was great for me to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-paige/to-work-with-richard-ayoade-is-my-favourite-thing-in-the-world-he-is/) [Yasmin Paige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-paige/) > [In the long course of history, having people who understand your thought is much greater security than another submarine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/in-the-long-course-of-history-having-people-who-understand-your/) [J. 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We right now only have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-will-build-a-navy-of-350-surface-ships-and-submarines-as/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [For me 'Submarine', is probably one of the most important things I've done and it will always remain the closest thing to my heart.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-paige/for-me-submarine-is-probably-one-of-the-most-important-things-i-ve/) [Yasmin Paige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-paige/) ## More by John Allen Paulos > [Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/uncertainty-is-the-only-certainty-there-is-and-knowing-how-to-live/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) > [I used to be surprised and even depressed when I met someone I had admired and discovered him or her to be a jerk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/i-used-to-be-surprised-and-even-depressed-when-i-met-someone-i-had/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) > [The fashion pages have always baffled me. In my opinion, the articles appear to be full of gobbledygook as to make the astrology column…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/the-fashion-pages-have-always-baffled-me-in-my-opinion-the-articles/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) > [In the stock market... You can be right for the wrong reasons or wrong for the right reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/in-the-stock-market-you-can-be-right-for-the-wrong-reasons-or-wrong/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) > [When asked why he doesn't believe in astrology, the logician Raymond Smullyan responds that he's a Gemini and Geminis never believe in astrology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/when-asked-why-he-doesn-t-believe-in-astrology-the-logician-raymond/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) > [Defined broadly enough, mathematics encompasses everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/defined-broadly-enough-mathematics-encompasses-everything/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) > [So many see themselves as aggrieved; so few see themselves as aggrievers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/so-many-see-themselves-as-aggrieved-so-few-see-themselves-as/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) > [“I sometimes think it would be beneficial if people thought of each other as “historical factorials.” Thus, (Myrtle!) would be understood not just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/i-sometimes-think-it-would-be-beneficial-if-people-thought-of-each/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) > [Mathematicians are a bit like the laconic Vermonter who, when asked if he's lived in the state his whole life, replies, "Not yet."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/mathematicians-are-a-bit-like-the-laconic-vermonter-who-when-asked-if/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) > [Mathematics is no more computation than typing is literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/mathematics-is-no-more-computation-than-typing-is-literature/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) > [There is something inhuman and vaguely pornographic about statistics... Pornography, on the other hand, with its loosely bound sequences of storyless sexual couplings often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/there-is-something-inhuman-and-vaguely-pornographic-about-statistics/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) > [Certainty a strange Ferris wheel of a statement!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/certainty-a-strange-ferris-wheel-of-a-statement/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) > [One must give up the fantasy of a perspicacious gunslinger/investor outwitting the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/one-must-give-up-the-fantasy-of-a-perspicacious-gunslinger-investor/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) > [How many pizzas are consumed each year in the United States? How many words have you spoken in your life? How many different peoples…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/how-many-pizzas-are-consumed-each-year-in-the-united-states-how-many/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) > [A German merchant of the fifteenth century asked an eminent professor where he should send his son for a good business education. The professor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/a-german-merchant-of-the-fifteenth-century-asked-an-eminent-professor/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) [Explore all 26 John Allen Paulos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) ## More Nuclear weapons quotes > [We do not know which irresponsible Israeli prime minister will take office and decide to use nuclear weapons in the struggle against neighboring Arab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordechai-vanunu/we-do-not-know-which-irresponsible-israeli-prime-minister-will-take/) [Mordechai Vanunu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordechai-vanunu/) > [I don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/i-don-t-believe-anyone-that-i-know-in-the-administration-ever-said/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [A nuclear-weapons armed Iran is not in anyone's human-rights interests. That is a direct threat to the lives and the livelihoods and the stability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/a-nuclear-weapons-armed-iran-is-not-in-anyone-s-human-rights/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [There is no direct evidence that nuclear weapons prevented a world war. Conversely, it is known that they nearly caused one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-rotblat/there-is-no-direct-evidence-that-nuclear-weapons-prevented-a-world/) [Joseph Rotblat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-rotblat/) > [Wasn't Saddam destroyed? Wasn't Gaddafi liquidated? Didn't Milosevic go to the Hague? All true. But Stalin survived. Kim Jong-un isn't doing too badly, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/wasn-t-saddam-destroyed-wasn-t-gaddafi-liquidated-didn-t-milosevic-go/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [Certainly in the United States, you have a constituency in the form of the weapons laboratories, and you also have the branches of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/certainly-in-the-united-states-you-have-a-constituency-in-the-form-of/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Maybe that will happen with other countries as well. And so, that's why one of the things that groups like mine that work for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/maybe-that-will-happen-with-other-countries-as-well-and-so-that-s-why/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Israel has a couple of hundred nuclear weapons and also chemical and biological weapons. This stockpile is not only a threat in itself but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/israel-has-a-couple-of-hundred-nuclear-weapons-and-also-chemical-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“As the tail on our back disappeared as we no longer had any use for it, nuclear weapons will also disappear once we realize,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/as-the-tail-on-our-back-disappeared-as-we-no-longer-had-any-use-for/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [It is such a supreme folly to believe that nuclear weapons are deadly only if they're used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/it-is-such-a-supreme-folly-to-believe-that-nuclear-weapons-are-deadly/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [In the late 1950s a major topic under discussion was whether Canada should acquire nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/in-the-late-1950s-a-major-topic-under-discussion-was-whether-canada/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [I come to this debate, Mr. Speaker, as one at the end of 10 years in office on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/i-come-to-this-debate-mr-speaker-as-one-at-the-end-of-10-years-in/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [One of the problems with industrialism is that it's based on the premise of more and more. It has to keep expanding to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dora-russell/one-of-the-problems-with-industrialism-is-that-it-s-based-on-the/) [Dora Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dora-russell/) > [We know he's been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cheney/we-know-he-s-been-absolutely-devoted-to-trying-to-acquire-nuclear/) [Dick Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cheney/) > [All nations that have nuclear weapons think that they are responsible and it is the other guys who are irresponsible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-cirincione/all-nations-that-have-nuclear-weapons-think-that-they-are-responsible/) Joseph Cirincione [Browse all 932 Nuclear weapons quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-weapons/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The nuclear weapons on board just one of our Trident submarines contain eight times the firepower expended in all of World War II.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Allen Paulos" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/the-nuclear-weapons-on-board-just-one-of-our-trident-submarines/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Nuclear weapons" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/the-nuclear-weapons-on-board-just-one-of-our-trident-submarines/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/john-allen-paulos-22241_nuclear-weapons_the-nuclear-weapons-on-board-just-one-of_841028.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/john-allen-paulos-22241_nuclear-weapons_the-nuclear-weapons-on-board-just-one-of_841028.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/john-allen-paulos-22241_nuclear-weapons_the-nuclear-weapons-on-board-just-one-of_841028.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The nuclear weapons on board just one of our Trident submarines contain eight times the firepower expended…” — John Allen Paulos", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Allen Paulos", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The nuclear weapons on board just...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/the-nuclear-weapons-on-board-just-one-of-our-trident-submarines/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/the-nuclear-weapons-on-board-just-one-of-our-trident-submarines/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```