Greek Fire
Greek Fire (Wikipedia)
“Greek fire is best understood as a complete weapon system of many components, all of which were needed to operate together to render it effective. This comprised not only the formula of its composition, but also the specialized dromons, the device used to prepare the substance by heating and pressurizing it, the siphon projecting it, and the special training of the siphōnarioi who used it. Knowledge of the whole system was highly compartmentalised, with operators and technicians aware of the secrets of only one component, ensuring that no enemy could gain knowledge of it in its entirety.”
Holy frack, a system design perspective on one of the earliest forms of napalm.
Forget iTunes and iPod and iTunes Store (and iPhone and iPad and Apple TV and whatever else is enabled by that sordid ecosystem). Next time I talk about the design of systems, I’m going to talk about a little thing invented back around 672 A.D.
A little thing that could burn underwater and destroy a navy.
