Re:The Dumbest Idea In The World: Maximizing Shareholder Value
by mikeash on Monday December 26, 2011 @03:37PM
(#3393877)
And I'm saying that the perception of "honorable" was obviously very different than what we would consider "honorable" to be today if murdering his accuser and getting away with it improved that perception.
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Re:The Dumbest Idea In The World: Maximizing Shareholder Value
by cwp on Monday December 26, 2011 @04:08PM
(#3393938)
Sigh. Yes, attitudes toward violence have changed. We don't have duels any more, and if we did, the winner would go to jail. Fine.
What's interesting about the duel isn't that Burr killed Hamilton, it's that he took the risk of getting killed himself. The duel could easily have turned out the other way. Who would risk his life to protect his reputation today? Certainly not Dick Cheney.
Re:The Dumbest Idea In The World: Maximizing Shareholder Value
by nl on Monday December 26, 2011 @06:54PM
(#3394252)
It is worth noting that Burr was known as a violent man and a good pistol shot (unlike Hamilton). If he had been an honorable man he would have deliberately missed (which was common in duels).
Re:The Dumbest Idea In The World: Maximizing Shareholder Value
by mikeash on Monday December 26, 2011 @04:41PM
(#3394007)
I agree, that's interesting. I simply dispute that this is evidence that honor truly was important in the past. The word may have been, but the meaning was not what we mean by it today.