2. Stanislav Petrov’s Judgment (1983)
On September 26, 1983, Soviet officer Stanislav Petrov was on duty at the Oko nuclear early-warning system command center when it falsely detected incoming U.S. missiles. Despite protocol, Petrov judged the alarm a false alarm, preventing a potential nuclear conflict. His decision highlighted the fragility of Cold War systems and the critical role of human judgment in averting disaster (bbc.com).
