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Tacit Knowledge, Weapons Design, and the Uninvention of Nuclear Weapons
Abstract
Tacit Knowledge, embodied in people rather than words, equations, or diagrams, plays a vital role in science. The historical record of the development and spread of nuclear weapons and the recollections of their designers suggest that tacit knowledge is also crucial to nuclear weapons development. Therefore, if design ceases, and if there is no new generation of designers to whom that tacit knowledge can be passed, then in an important (though qualified) sense nuclear weapons will have been uninvented. Their renewed development would thus have some of the characteristics of reinvention rather than simply copying. In addition, knowledge may be lost not only as a result of complete disarmament, but also as a consequence of likely measures such as a nuclear test ban.
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Cited by
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Frickel, S., Gibbon, S., Howard, J., Kempner, J., Ottinger, G., & Hess, D. J. (2010) · Science, Technology, & Human Values · doi:10.1177/0162243909345836 · Cited by 632
Van den Bulte, C., & Moenaert, R. K. (1998) · Management Science · doi:10.1287/mnsc.44.11.s1 · Cited by 252
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Metadata
- Authors
- MacKenzie, D., & Spinardi, G.
- Venue
- American Journal of Sociology
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Published
- 1995-07
- Volume
- 101
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 44-99
- ISSN
- 0002-9602 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-5390
- OpenAlex
- W2012370728
- Cited by
- 277
- References
- 0
- FWCI
- 43.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
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- MacKenzie, D., & Spinardi, G. (1995). Tacit Knowledge, Weapons Design, and the Uninvention of Nuclear Weapons. American Journal of Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1086/230699
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