Dominant weapons become obsolete when their intended fights never occur

Evidence

By 1914, it was clear even to the British that despite their grandeur, battleships were not going to prove decisive in battles. They’d been designed to fight other battleships, but such engagements almost never materialized and, as deterrents, they had become obsolete. Although battleships remained a part of naval fleets for many years afterward, their prestigious role as monarch of the seas was over, and the few that remained in service ended up supporting a newer and better weapon, the aircraft carrier. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 456

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Arms races inevitably stall as weapon costs neutralize reproductive benefits — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 432; Weapons disappear when fights stop being duels over defensible resources; Symmetrical one-on-one fights are a neglected prerequisite for weapon arms races — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 226 (+15 more)

Related

• Weapons disappear when fights stop being duels over defensible resources (similarity 0.89)
• A single technological leap can render an entire opposing arsenal obsolete (similarity 0.81)
• Weapons primarily deter rivals rather than inflict harm in actual fights (similarity 0.80)
• The most expensive weapons serve as deterrents by projecting power globally. (similarity 0.80)
• Costly advanced weapons deter rivals just like large animal weapons (similarity 0.79)
• English gun tactics initially failed to break Spanish formation (similarity 0.79)
• Weapon escalation ends when costs outweigh benefits and cheaters invade (similarity 0.79)
• Losing the ecological context of competition can make extreme weapons vanish. (similarity 0.79)
• Weapons innovations trigger arms races in ships just as in animals (similarity 0.78)
• Weapons evolve only when reproductive benefits exceed costs (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Weapons work primarily as deterrents that prevent fights rather than win them #expands (0.70) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 966
• Weapons primarily deter rivals rather than inflict harm in actual fights #expands (0.65)
• Fortified defense lines can decay into near-total unreadiness through neglect #exemplifies (0.60) — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 244
• A single technological leap can render an entire opposing arsenal obsolete #complicates (0.60) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 562
• Weapon evolution needs both competition and economically defensible resources #qualifies (0.55) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 191
• Bigger weapons usually fail because their costs outweigh their benefits #corroborates (0.50)