Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1013IR // #c1013Synthesis

"The Soviet Union finally agreed to three inspections. The United States insisted on no less than ten. And there the talks broke down — over positions — despite the fact that no one understood whether an 'inspection' would involve one person looking around for one day, or a hundred people prying indiscriminately for a month."

— In our words · Source: Getting to Yes (Roger Fisher, William Ury & Bruce Patton)

[Use when]

Two sides are dug in on competing figures and nobody has defined what the figures mean.

[Why it matters]

The Kennedy-era test-ban talks broke down over a count, three inspections or ten, when neither side had defined what one inspection was.

More from Getting to Yes

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