In 1985, an American undergraduate mathematics competition posed two different problems for teams to choose from. Problem A asked contestants to develop a theory for the optimal harvesting of some species of wild animal, whether bird, fish or mammal. Problem B was entitled "Managing a Strategic Reserve": *Cobalt, which is not produced in the U.S., is essential to a number of industries. (Defense accounted for 17% of the cobalt production in* *1979.) Most cobalt comes from central Africa, a politically unstable re-gion. The Strategic and Critical Materials Stockpiling Act of 1946 requires a cobalt reserve that will carry the U.S. through a three-year war.* *The government built up a cobalt stockpile in the 1950s, sold most of it off in the early 1970s, and then decided to build it up in the late 1970s, with a stockpile goal of 85.4 million pounds. About half of this stockpile had been acquired by 1982.* *Build a mathematical model for managing a stockpile of the strategic metal cobalt. You will need to consider such questions as: How big should the stockpile be? At what rate should it be acquired? What is a reasonable price to pay for the metal? You will also want to consider such questions as: At what point should the stockpile be drawn down? At what rate should it be drawn down? What is a reasonable price to sell the metal?* *How should it be allocated?* Philip Davis (or Reuben Hersh) was the organising teacher for his team, and he was angry when he saw the second problem. The story is recounted in the book [[Descartes' Dream]]. Davis argues that the inclusion of this problem in a mathematics competition sends the message to students that their teachers consider nuclear weapons research an OK field to enter, and thereby colludes in the possible destruction of civilization. He calls it a "perverted, anti-educational" problem, one that was far more harmful to society than if students were encouraged to enter the cocaine or white slave business ("assuming either of these had need for mathematical consultation.") What's interesting is that he had no issue with Problem A, which is arguably just as harmful a message, one that colludes in ecocide and biodiversity loss, by giving us "the grand permission ... to use the bodies of other animals." (Lydia Millet)