Why Translators are important?

At the fag end of WW2, when Japan was literally on its last legs and USA was contemplating whether to drop the bomb or not.

One side wanted to drop the bomb and get it over with. Other side thought Japan was so battered that, she would surrender

Meanwhile, most of the Japanese Cabinet wanted to surrender, provided the Emperor could continue but were confused as Allies had said, "Unconditional Surrender"

At this point informal negotiations for giving up, had started.

Post the surrender of Germany, all the Allies met in Potsdam and issued a declaration, that said, "Unless Japan surrenders immediately, they will face prompt and utter destruction", a clear indication for the Bomb.

The Japanese PM, Kantaro Suzuki, wanted to give up

But to keep the ultras off his back, he decided to offer no comments to the Potsdam Proclamation

He used the Japanese word, "Mokusatsu", which meant silence.

But some translator dude in USA, used the other meaning of the word, "Kill it with Contempt" to describe Suzuki's stance

The USA thought Japanese have no interest in Surrender and will fight to death because of that response.

They thought Japan was too aggressive to surrender.

So eight days later, they dropped the Bomb on Hiroshima.

One small mistranslation, one cataclysmic event..

I am reading this book, "Sway : The Irresistible pull of Irrational Behaviour", where it gives the psychology behind irrational decisions.

The first case study in it was the world's worst Air crash, the Pan AM - KLM crash in Tenerife, where 583 people were killed.

The more I read about the accident, the more I am convinced about fate and the role that it plays in our life.

Two 747s that crashed on that fateful day, weren't even supposed to be there. There were supposed to fly to the Gran Canaria islands with loads of Holidayers.

And they were flown by the most experienced people in their respective airlines. The KLM flight was piloted by Jacob Von Zanten, the airlines chief flight instructor. He had appeared in KLM ads, as a metaphor for safety and responsibility.

The Pan AM pilots were no slouched too.

Just when they were about to land, a small bomb went off at the Gran Canaria airport & there was a call that a second bomb had been planted

As a result the authorities closed the airport and diverted all the flights, including the Pan AM and KLM to the nearby airport at Tenerife

Event 1 just happened.

Now Tenerife airport is a very small provincial airport. It was not equipped to handle big 747s. But it had no choice.

Amidst a lot of smaller planes, both the flights landed and jostled for space. It was at this point, von Zanten started worrying.

How the Future of India and USA, was determined by the inability of the Austrian Kings Joseph I and Charles VI, to produce male heirs..

When Joseph 1, died of smallpox in 1711, he had two daughters but no son. As a result, his brother Charles VI, succeeded him on the throne

Given that it was 1700s and the presence of a Son was considered paramount for succession, and the Salic law, in effect at that time barred women from inheritance, Charles VI was the last male heir to the throne, unless Charles VI had a son.

Which he didn't.

But he had 2 daughters, Maria Theresa & Maria Anna. Realizing that his kingdom would be divided on his death, he decided to change the law, and allowed his daughters to inherit the kingdom

Which was pretty sad for thhe daughters of his elder brother, Joseph, who he disinherited

Every other European power was smacking their lips in anticipation, of devouring the wonderful Austro Hungarian empire as a sweet desert, as it's division was imminent.

Things came to head in 1740, when Charles VI died and Maria Theresa became the Empress of Austria.

Half the Europen powers, Like France, Prussia and Spain, sided with the daughters of Joseph, because they wanted to takeover Austria

Britain, Dutch and Russia, sided with Maria Theresa.

This resulted in an 8 year war called the war of Austrian Succession, in which 3,00,000 died