Editing Herman Kahn (section)

== Cultural influence ==

Along with [[John von Neumann]], [[Edward Teller]] and [[Wernher von Braun]], Kahn was an inspiration for the character "Dr. Strangelove" in [[Dr. Strangelove|the eponymous film]] by [[Stanley Kubrick]] released in 1964.<ref name=Boyer1996 />{{Failed verification|date=January 2022|reason=Kahn and von Neumann are not identified as inspirations for the Strangelove character. The source (p. 268) does mention Kahn's book but does not explicitly state that Kubrick read it.}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Liljenberg |first=August |date=2023-07-27 |title=The Eccentric World of Herman Kahn |url=https://farsight.cifs.dk/the-eccentric-world-of-herman-kahn/ |access-date= |website=[[Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies]] |language=en-US}}</ref> After Kubrick read Kahn's book ''On Thermonuclear War'', he began a correspondence with him which led to face-to-face discussions between Kubrick and Kahn.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maloney |first1=Sean |title=Deconstructing Dr. Strangelove: The Secret History of Nuclear War Films |date=2020 |publisher=Potomac Books |isbn=9781640121928 |page=24 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xCngDwAAQBAJ&dq=Kubrick+thermonuclear+war+kahn&pg=PA24 |access-date=10 August 2022}}</ref> In the film, Dr. Strangelove refers to a report on the Doomsday Machine by the "BLAND Corporation", a parody of the RAND Corporation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Liljenberg |first=August |date=2023-07-27 |title=The Eccentric World of Herman Kahn |url=https://farsight.cifs.dk/the-eccentric-world-of-herman-kahn/ |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Farsight |language=en-US}}</ref> Kahn gave Kubrick the idea for the "[[Doomsday device|Doomsday Machine]]", a device which would immediately cause the destruction of the entire planet in the event of a nuclear attack. Both the name and the concept of the weapon are drawn from the text of ''On Thermonuclear War''.<ref name="newyorker.com">[http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/06/27/fat-man "Fat Man – Herman Kahn and the Nuclear Age"], Louis Menand, ''The New Yorker'', June 27, 2005</ref> Louis Menand observes, "In Kahn's book, the Doomsday Machine is an example of the sort of deterrent that appeals to the military mind but that is dangerously destabilizing. Since nations are not suicidal, its only use is to threaten."<ref name="newyorker.com"/>

Kahn also inspired the character of Professor Groeteschele ([[Walter Matthau]]) in the 1964 film ''[[Fail Safe (1964 film)|Fail Safe]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/05/shut-in-movie-club-fail-safe-coronavirus|title = Watching Fail Safe at the End of the World|website = [[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|date = 8 May 2020}}</ref>