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<blockquote data-quote="David Argall" data-source="post: 434250" data-attributes="member: 4481">armies &amp; wives&quot;it flies in the face of the commonly held medical, psychological and social statistics, annecdotes, studies and theories.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Many of which are actually nothing more than political propaganda.&nbsp; the &quot;I'm a victim and deserve everything&quot; model is very popular these days.&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;There is no extant, credible evidence to support your claim&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp; For a clear point, we might consider the common advice that if you attempt to rescue a wife from a wifebeater, you are not to turn your back on the wife, as she is quite likely to help the beater by whoping you one.&nbsp; People vary widely of course, but she is not this helpless wimp who can't defend herself at all.&nbsp; Often she is a full and equal combatant.&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;this one instance doesn't add up to &quot;Wholesale exaggeration&quot;.&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp; True, but this is not just one instance.&nbsp; It is simply the routine case to exaggerate army size.&nbsp; You exaggerate your own to claim greater power, and exaggerate the other guy's to puff up your victory or excuse your defeat.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; You will find this true of most ancient statistics.&nbsp; They can be quoted, but should not be believed.&nbsp;&nbsp; Of course, I am arguing against myself here.&nbsp; The larger the army, the more the PC, the center of our game, becomes a mere footnote of no importance, which means the less we want war in our game.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="David Argall, post: 434250, member: 4481"] [b]armies & wives[/b] "it flies in the face of the commonly held medical, psychological and social statistics, annecdotes, studies and theories." Many of which are actually nothing more than political propaganda. the "I'm a victim and deserve everything" model is very popular these days. "There is no extant, credible evidence to support your claim" For a clear point, we might consider the common advice that if you attempt to rescue a wife from a wifebeater, you are not to turn your back on the wife, as she is quite likely to help the beater by whoping you one. People vary widely of course, but she is not this helpless wimp who can't defend herself at all. Often she is a full and equal combatant. "this one instance doesn't add up to "Wholesale exaggeration"." True, but this is not just one instance. It is simply the routine case to exaggerate army size. You exaggerate your own to claim greater power, and exaggerate the other guy's to puff up your victory or excuse your defeat. You will find this true of most ancient statistics. They can be quoted, but should not be believed. Of course, I am arguing against myself here. The larger the army, the more the PC, the center of our game, becomes a mere footnote of no importance, which means the less we want war in our game. [/QUOTE]

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