brilliant way to start describing it. Previous to the Cold War, most projects were solved within a
single company’s campus, like Bell Labs. During the Cold War this shifted dramatically. The
military orchestrated a nationwide effort across multiple companies and universities. It was no
longer a simple report to a few managers. Every company and university had to document each step
meticulously in order to prevent miscommunications in reproduction or testing. The structure, the
complex, was enormous. One university may be responsible for a single function of the computing
power another university developed. Similarly, one manufacturer may produce the wings of a plane
and another develops the dashboard switches, and yet another brings it all together for assembly. In
conclusion the three major characteristic of Cold War engineering are the military advancement was
priority, the military sought public talent from universities and industry, and finally by pulling public
talent the military-industrial-university complex was born and massive to say the least.
The SAGE project was a great investment. The concept of automatic eyes on the sky was brilliant
for the Cold War Era. Professor Jones notes Thomas Hughes’ view on SAGE, in
Engineering in the
Cold War,
SAGE was the Erie Canal, for computing engineers, of the Cold War. Similarly, to the
Erie Canal which produced many civil engineers, the SAGE project produced many software and
computing engineers. The technology that was developed for the SAGE project was cutting edge
and undiscovered up to this point in history. Due to the new developments in computing technology
the spin-offs from the SAGE project were irreplaceable. The SAGE Project launched the computing
world into new possibilities and realms of computing never imagines prior to its inception. It is
pretty easy to argue the singular downfall of the SAGE Project. The project, unfortunately, was no
longer a relevant technology by the time it was completed. The main reasoning was intercontinental
ballistic missiles(ICBMs) had taken the place of bombers. The ICBMs traveled many times faster
than bomber planes so SAGE could not detect them soon enough to be effective.
I do believe my opinion has morphed. Previously I had been fiercely against universities being
privately involved in military war-weapon development, but now it seems more of a grey zone. The
military knew where the brains of innovative technologies could be found. When viewing the
military-industrial-university complex it is best and most realistically viewed within its time period
and circumstances. If I view it as just the complex without the extenuating circumstances it makes
the military seem like a genius sucking monster that is simply trying to make industries and
universities dependent up on itself. But on the other hand when put into context it shows how
important the rest of the nation and its citizens are to the resilience and strength of the military.
Without the universities and industry, the military, and ultimately, the nation, would have been like a
sitting duck during hunting season.
