10.
Meteorite explosions in the Earth’s atmosphere as large as the one
that destroyed forests in Siberia, with approximately the force of a
twelve-megaton nuclear blast, occur about once a century. The
response of highly automated systems controlled by complex computer
programs to unexpected circumstances is unpredictable.
Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn, if
the statements above are true, about a highly automated nuclear-
missile defense system controlled by a complex computer program?
A. Within a century after its construction, the system would react
inappropriately and might accidentally start a nuclear war.
B. The system would be destroyed if an explosion of a large
meteorite occurred in the Earth’s atmosphere.
C. It would be impossible for the system to distinguish the
explosion of a large meteorite from the explosion of a nuclear
weapon.
D. Whether the system would respond inappropriately to the explosion
of a large meteorite would depend on the location of the blast.
E. It is not certain what the system’s response to the explosion of
a large meteorite would be, if its designers did not plan for such a
contingency.
