Hacker News Reader

I would be very interested to see how this analysis controls for human factors: plenty of generals in the US civil war were, with the evidence of historical analysis, incompetent (think: Buell) or borderline sympathetic to the enemy (McClellan)

Might “I’d’ve attacked had I heard them!” be a convenient after the fact rationalization?

View on HN

There's a boatload of other staffers nearby, to say nothing of individual soldiers who might have their own account of what they heard. It seems unlikely that a general would really get away with, "oh I didn't hear it" when everyone else there clearly did. I mean, they might escape court martial, but everyone there will know they're full of it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com