How to be a confident duellist
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- čas přidán 20. 05. 2024
- Sam Reich, Ashley Hamer and Adam Savage face a question about a duel with a dodge.
LATERAL is a weekly podcast about interesting questions and even more interesting answers, hosted by Tom Scott. For business enquiries, contestant appearances or question submissions, visit www.lateralcast.com
GUESTS:
Sam Reich: @samreich, / samreich
Ashley Hamer: / smashleyhamer
Adam Savage: @tested, / donttrythis
HOST: Tom Scott.
QUESTION PRODUCER: David Bodycombe.
RECORDED AT: The Podcast Studios, Dublin.
EDITED BY: Julie Hassett.
GRAPHICS: Chris Hanel at Support Class. Assistant: Dillon Pentz.
MUSIC: Karl-Ola Kjellholm ('Private Detective'/'Agrumes', courtesy of epidemicsound.com).
FORMAT: Pad 26 Limited/Labyrinth Games Ltd.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: David Bodycombe and Tom Scott.
© Pad 26 Limited (www.pad26.com) / Labyrinth Games Ltd. 2024. - Zábava
I sometimes wonder where maths would be today if only in 1832 a 20 year-old Frenchman were to disregard honour and desert his duel.
Galois, right?
Leaving a comment here as I am curious to learn who this is about
@@redfrog9717 That would be my guess as well, but I'm glad to be put right :)
Btw, dear reader, if you don't know the story of Évariste Galois, take your time and google it!
@@redfrog9717 The very same. Then again, 1832 might have been only his own personal linchpin, not maths', and he might have published what we already know (albeit maybe a little earlier?) and not much more, or just meet his demise in later events, such as 1848.
@@WhatforNameIsThat Evariste Galois. He was a legendary mathematician known for his work with finding the solution of polynomials, specifically what is now known as Galois theory.
Duels had been illegal in France for a long time (see The Three Musketeers for example) but there was a loophole: "parlementary duels". Members of the parliament cannot be arrested or prosecuted without a vote from the parliament, so they kept duelling each others late in the 20th century and just pardonned themselves.
Tom Scott, Adam Savage, and Sam Reich? Never thought I would see them in the same show, but it's awesome.
They were on a few months ago in that constellation aswell, so there's more Lateral videos with them to check out! :)
If we get this on tap in exchange for toms other channel (which I love - to be clear) then I think it's a fair trade.
I really wish we could watch these entire conversations. The podcast is one thing, but seeing the guests react to each other is so wonderful. As they say, a (moving) picture is worth 1000 words.
French Duels were mostly for show (ESPECIALLY pistols) by that era, Sword duels were sometimes catered, and almost always had press on hand. The German (and Russian) duels were the literal killjoys, and had fatality rates an order of magnitude higher (the Germans and Russians WOULD use rifled pistols, one shot at a time only even if automatics, for duels). Clemenceau had his favorite sword buried with him.
During that period of time atleast the Germans wouldn't. They were following the same duelling codex all over Europe, always with single shot pistols that were mostly non-rifled (sometimes rifled pistols were used). It's also really hard to tell how many duels really happened in Germany at that time, because duels were technically illegal since atleast 1871 and therefore there really aren't that many records about them (punishment for a duel wasn't really hard, though, so a lot of them still happened).
@@MyRegardsToTheDodo Kevin McAleer pretty much wrote "the book" on German Dueling in the 19 20th centuries (with a chapter for the French for contrast). Called "Dueling". He dug into old newspaper archives and other records (which at one point involved crossing into East Berlin Daily and swapping 20 marks for the privilege, he suspects his Stassi file is quite interesting). The Germans didn't duel as often, but it was MUCH more dangerous (and unlike the French, the reasons were generally kept quiet). They knew it to, there is a contemporary joke of a Frenchwoman being awakened by her husband getting up early to fight a duel (presumably in the forest). She tells him to be sure to dress warm, so he doesn't catch a cold..
Calling it now: it is a coffin, and it wasn't pessimistic because it was for his opponent.
That was my first thought as well.
Same.
Why would you pay for your opponents coffin thought? Considering he was in 50+ duels, it probably would have been expensive for him
50 Duels - that's a lot of money he saved! :D
If he hadn't fought the duels he'd have saved the fifty singles, too.
@@zoefschildpad He needed the return tickets to get home. If he hadn't fought the duels he wouldn't have needed any tickets at all. So no savings that he can keep. Otherwise, everyone would be saving a fortune everyday by not buying tickets to far away places we are never going to visit. Wouldn't even have to work.
@@JohnDoe-tx8lq The more you spend, the more you save!
@@JohnDoe-ti2np The less you spend on stuff you actually need, the more you save.
Me, looking at thumbnail: there's no way that's Adam.
Edit: the fact that french were allowing duels in 1890's is wild.
Same thoughts on why I clicked on the notification. "No way is that Adam Savage"
Another fun fact is that the French allowed execution by guillotine until the 1970s. The last execution by guillotine was in 1977.
Actually the last duel by sword fighting was not long ago too I think it was in the 1970s as well involving a minister and took place at said minister's house in the garden and even filmed for the TV news
@@assiacbn9472 1967 in fact.
Sometimes they weren't legal, they were just "tolerated". Hamilton went to NJ for his duel because it was illegal in NY state. It's one of those things: even if there's a law against it, but most people think it's fine, well...
Adam would definitely be doing duel reenactments in tophats if just one part of his career went a little different 25 years ago.
Not me screaming life insurance at the screen from the start
But that would have been pessimistic, assuming he might die.😉
I was thinking he went to a notary and got his will notarized. Not because he wanted to make sure his affairs were in order, but because the person he was about to duel wouldn't need to be in there anymore. That idea is ridiculous enough that I was worried I'd feel disappointed at the actual answer if I was wrong.
Well I was wrong, but not disappointed. :D
I thought it was an umbrella! Like he was so confident about the duel this exchange was about the weather.
I actually guessed the part with the train ticket, but I thought his explanation would be that he had to go to another duel right after
This reminds me of one of my favourite "mathematicians vs. physicists" jokes:
A group of physicists, and a group of mathematicians, both travel to a conference by train. On the way to the conference, the group of physicists buys one ticket for each member. They then watch as the mathematicians buy a single ticket. Intrigued, the physicists decide to investigate. How are the mathematicians going to avoid being fined for dodging the fare?
On the train, each group enters their own cabin. The ticket collector arrives, enters the physicists' cabin, and each of them happily shows their ticket. When the ticket collector knocks on the mathematicians' cabin, one of them opens and shows their ticket. Asked if they're traveling alone, the mathematician affirms. The physicists, both amused and amazed, decide to use this method to save money on the way back.
A few days later, the physicists, happy to have learned a new trick, buy their single ticket. The mathematicians enter the train without a ticket. They all settle down in their cabins. A few minutes later, one of the mathematicians knocks on the cabin of the physicists and asks for their ticket. One of the physicists opens the door a tiny crack, and hands it to them. The mathematician takes it, and then quickly returns to their own cabin...
The moral of this story: Physicists are using the methods of mathematicians without truly understanding them.
So currently round the 30 second mark...
Im gonna say he bought the bullets in BULK. So the clerk was like "well isnt that pessimistic, thinking you're gonne get into 50 shootouts" and he said "well but im expecting to survive at least 49"?
For the entirety of this video save the last minute or so, I thought we were talking about a duel with rapiers. French gentlemen, common to not have any wounds... it made so much more sense to me than pistols.
This is my absolute favorite podcast to look forward to each week; it so appeals perfectly to my wacky way of thinking
My first thought was that he went to update his last will and testament. As to why it wasn't pessimistic, he was updating it to give his opponent everything he owned if he died before he could update it again, thus giving him a VERY good incentive to win.
This was one of the best audience lineups I've ever seen for the show! Hope to see them all back.
They've been on a few months ago aswell, so there's more videos of them together! :)
5:48 he could have said "nah I'd win"
He'd get split though.
The idea for this format is genius!
early guess: it's an umbrella, it wasn't raining but looked like it might after the duel. The clerk didn't know about the duel so thought it was pessimistic, but it was not in fact because doing so implied that he'd survive
Adam and Sam in the same call? That may be a critical mass of Goofy Peppy Glasses Guy energy! 😂
Fun fact, Hamilton portrays Philip Hamilton as surrendering during his duel versus a bloodthirsty opponent; but in reality, they both threw away their first shot, reloaded, and after a long pause, tried again. No spoilers.
I'm sure someone has asked this on another video, but ... Is that the Complete Calvin and Hobbes on Sam Reich's shelf?
I got it at 2:32. On a related note, I've been watching way too many Jago Hazzard videos lately.
wow that would be a person to have on the show. Tom has had J Draper on before and they're both very similar in that they do London history tours
Did someone just summon the great Jago Hazzard??
Let's see if this works
@JagoHazzard your presence is requested.
And here I thought it might be to buy a ticket on a necropolis/cemetery train. As in: the duel was going to take place outside the front gates of a cemetery. London had one, but I don't think Paris had one.
Me as a history nerd after hearing the question: Hey, isn't that the guy who was prime minister during WW1 and the main reason why Treaty of Versailles was so harsh on Germans?
Ooh
That's a pretty severe oversimplification for someone who calls themself a history nerd.
In my mind I was getting Clemenceau and Pompidou confused. Pompidou was a president in the Fifth Republic.
Unfortunately, Clemenceau had to pay £220 to change the name on the train ticket.
Ha, that’s nice.
@@s1lverposting I’m glad at least one dedicated fan noticed!
1:40 it's something to imply that you'll get hurt, but not die.
btw, completely irrelevent to anything, but clemenceau was nicknamed the tiger, and I'm pretty sure was for his sharp wit.
3:35 damn it! I thought of that but figured it couldn't be reinterpreted as optimistic
Quite honestly, knowing that Clemenceau lived during WW1, but not knowing much else about him, I thought this was a trick question and the duels weren't actually the duels we think of. Never realized that the French allowed duels so late in history, even if they were mostly non-lethal by that point.
Worth noting there's all kinds of funky traditions, unrifled dueling pistols were common in Britain but not actually in continental Europe. In continental Europe they were often seen as a mark of cowardice (since both parties would use the same pistols, and rifled pistols were much better at hitting their target), but in Britain they were seen as more sporting, and the reduced accuracy was seen as allowing God's judgement to decide the encounter given how religious Britain was at this point.
There were naturally a great many ways of cheating by introducing rifling and then hiding it, which is evidence that we still find in pistol barrels being dragged out of attics to this day. Presumably swapping out ostensibly identical pistols would be a more common method of cheating, but this doesn't leave the same physical evidence behind as very faintly rifled barrels (that conveniently have the rifling stop at the furthest point that someone could reasonably see into).
My original thought was something like buying a casket for his opponent.
But honestly the one way ticket is a much better flex.
I am shocked that Tom Scott, a Brit, is pronouncing 'clerk' in the American way, instead of the British pronunciation that sounds like 'clark.'
Could be Tom's weird mid Atlantic accent but could also be that he's just aware that there's 3 Americans on the podcast who he knows will ask "Clark? The explorer guy?" and derail the whole thing
Some Americanisms do seem to be creeping into Tom's vocabulary. I totally understand that he is talking to a panel of Americans here, but he is English, and they are all intelligent people who would still understand him.
That's beast mode
Clerk. Or, as we say here in England, clark.
I got this when Tom clarified the meaning of _clerk,_ which is odd, given that I'm Irish and it means the same thing to me, but till then I'd gone along with the Americans guessing.
Interesting that he uses the American pronunciation of "clerk": he's noticeably Americanised his language over the years, but usually uses British pronunciations.
Well, "clarified" is a bit optimistic there...
He said that it's not the cashier in the shop...
So I thought it's themember of clergy... and I though it was some religious thing that they did
@@milesgould8288 Good chance he subconsciously shifted to more American English since he was in a call with exclusively Americans. He probably pronounces it "clahk" when he is speaking with other people.
@@peperoni_pepino That caught me too, even as an American. It was a "hey, wait... I thought you guys said 'clark' there?"
I can not be the only person that thought of the Firefly episode Shindig.
Mercy is the mark of a great man. {stabs him a little}. Guess I’m just a good one. {stabs him a little more}. Well I’m all right.
My anwser: a life insurance policy. It was not for himself but for his opponent.
Duelling was their version of "meet me by the flagpole". 😅
Here I thought he’d be buying a coffin for the other guy
He seemed to be betting on his opponent at least turning up
you know how you could buy life insurance at airports in like the sixties? well here's my startup idea for 1750-1890's france---
There is a Mark Twain story about a french duel
Anyone else so internet-poisoned that their mind involuntarily spat out "Call an ambulance - BUT NOT FOR ME!" after hearing the question?
No?
Just me?
...rats.
3:44 "And don't tell me that's not how democracy works, Perry the Platypus, because I don't want to hear it!"
Guess at 02:24
A death certificate form?
But it's blank?
Ah, yes, President Yugi Moto
The fact that my first thought was white flag too🤣🤣
Once we got to trains, I guessed, go by train and come home on the other guy's horse.
the venn diagram of people watching this video and the people who saw hamilton is a circle
Plot twist:
The other guy did the same.
So they had none return ticket.
So they sat at the bar and laughed it out. Happy end
*GCSE History flashbacks intensify*
Would a three-way duel be a 'Triel'? : )
Still safer than a quadrel.
Less bravado, more braggadocio...
Initial thoughts: "turn the other cheek" kind of guilt-trip, providing his match with much wider recontextualisation of the effective repercussions of his "future winning", responsibilities offloaded by uno-reversal/mirror effect onto the opponent, or presenting a meaningful memento/trinket/symbol that reminds the dueller of something quite important. All in order, no matter the means, to have the PM come out "on top".
But that's too straightforward. What about the Lateral aspect? Maybe in the context of these cases, "duels" were not swords or pistols fights, but rather meant as a general conflict resolution process (like a sit-down, a smoking of the peace pipe, or a conference/treaty meeting. Could even be about a coin toss about who's starting the discussion, having a "losing" coin part of the strategy.
3:25 He does so as to not unnecessarily burden the people with avoidable costs.
The answers were even much better than I'd imagine.
When will you have Yogesh Raut on this show?
This is commonplace, ‘specially ‘tween recruits.
Life insurance?
Most of the time, the two men would show up, fire their shots and then return home both alive.
The last time a French duel happened was after the Second World War.
If you don't know the answer, give it a shot anyways...
That seems very illogical to me. When chances are high that neither gets hit or that the other chickens out, that means you're stranded without ticket?
So did he win????
What if the opponent was also very confident & bought one way ticket for himself too? How is Clemenceau gonna get home then? 😏
A grave
Did he buy cocaine? Maybe it was used as medication but he figured it also heightened his senses for the duels
off by a mile
French Royalty used a white flag, as did the Taliban in Afghanistan prior to 2001
One way train ticket? (2:50)
Good job!
I like how Tom adapts his accent to the people he's speaking with, since he pronounced clerk correctly instead of saying Clark.
Differently, not correctly. It's incorrect for him, only correct for others.
@@SamuelGeist No, America is the only correct country in the world 🇱🇷
just outside of Washington, DC on the Maryland side of the line are "the Bladensburg dueling grounds" 3505 38th Ave, Colmar Manor, MD 20722