Animats 4 days ago

"Some thoughts on the presidency" [1]

(The site's index dates this to 1952, but it mentions "the events of 1974.")

[1] https://rickover-corpus.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Some+Thou...

  • emmelaich 4 days ago

    Yes, it mentions the energy crisis so dates it to late 70s at least. Also President Reagan, so after 1981. Probably well after.

  • andrewl 4 days ago

    I'm two pages in, and it is excellent.

    • ndileas 3 days ago

      There's a lot of timeless, good analysis. But there's also somewhat dated concerns (like the energy crisis stuff) where it's clear that he's responding to the issue du jour.

    • emmelaich 4 days ago

      Quotables in in every paragraph!

  • uncletaco 4 days ago

    The Nixon memo is dated for 1980 from after Nixon was president.

thomassmith65 4 days ago

  Unless the one person truly responsible can be identified when something goes wrong, then no one has been really responsible
Ah, it's Apple's DRI (Directly Responsible Individual) designation!
  • stmw 4 days ago

    It is always interesting how such principles are much older than our current examples!

andrewl 4 days ago

I've read a few articles about him, but I never heard him speak. I just pulled this up, and I find it fascinating:

https://taproot.com/rickover-60-minutes-interview/

  • xtiansimon 3 days ago

    I’ve known some lovable @$$#ol3$ who have the rare amalgamation of talent, self-possession, misanthropy. Their successes seem unrelated to their persons. Purely anecdotal, but don’t they all have difficult parents…

acidburnNSA 4 days ago

Truly amazing resource. Thanks to the folks funding this, and doing the scans.

  • ripe 3 days ago

    From the website:

    This project was compiled and digitized by Charles Yang under the Center for Industrial Strategy, with assistance from Jacks Flenniken.

    • stmw 3 days ago

      Some credit also given to the US Naval Academy archivists (usna.edu), and whoever preserved his files to begin with.

kentbrew 2 days ago

This sounds like the title of a Charlie Stross novel.

kreelman 4 days ago

Ah, the "Kindly Old Gentleman"...

Though a very difficult man to get on with... He did champion the correct building of the first nuclear subs.

  • CamperBob2 4 days ago

    Yep, a complex, flawed character.

    Unquestionably the right person for that particular job, though. He was Mr. "Failure is Not an Option" years before Gene Kranz.

brcmthrowaway 3 days ago

Never heard of this guy - Nimitz seems better

  • chrisg23 3 days ago

    Different domains. Admiral Rickover focused on the nuclear propulsion aspect of the navy. Its like comparing the CEO of a company with one of the heads of engineering.