Reply To: Forgive me, a slight rant

[Guy Farrish]

Sorry to interrupt the love fest chaps.

Of course accuracy is possible (although not in an objective practical sense!). There was a man walking back from Moscow to Saxony in 1812 dressed in parade uniform of 1809 because he wanted it for his triumph in Moscow and that was all he managed to salvage from the baggage when it was looted. There wasn’t however anyone dressed in British Khaki uniform from the colonial wars period, for obvious reasons – black holes don’t work like that and worm holes are – so far- purely conjectural.

Does any of that matter? Well if you want to create a precise visual representation of what you think the 1812 retreat looked like – obviously it does. If you want to create a better understanding of the disastrous results of such hubris – no. In fact you’d probably be better off not using any sort of toy figures at all. A thought game or a logistics game mirroring Minard’s graphic of the dwindling numbers of the ‘French’ army would work a lot better (or try a re-enactment this winter – the first day it snows hard select five items of clothing( each sock is one item) from your wardrobe in the dark and go for a twenty mile hike cross country wearing them and nothing else while your friends/loved ones/angry farmers berate you and throw things at you.)

Much more accurate than painting figures with the correct number of gaiter buttons. :^)