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I'm pretty sure those Spartan soldier-children were not capable of making informed financial decisions. In fact, a big part of that regimented lifestyle was bui

by azernik 10y ago

I'm pretty sure those Spartan soldier-children were not capable of making informed financial decisions. In fact, a big part of that regimented lifestyle was built to take away choices from young people. Great saying (I think Israeli) - "the army is a system built by geniuses to control idiots". Because they generally recruit 18-20-year-olds, and yes, 18-20-year-olds are idiots. So the institution puts them through the kind of regimentation that the Spartans did to exert some kind of control.

dctoedt 10y ago
> Great saying (I think Israeli) - "the army is a system built by geniuses to control idiots". That's a variation on a line from Herman Wouk's World War II novel The Caine Mutiny, in which one character says that the Navy is a system designed by geniuses for execution by idiots.
- azernik 10y ago
  Ha! I'd heard that book was good. I heard the phrase from my mom (Israeli, grew up in the 60s-70s). Not sure the saying is widely adopted in Israel or just she or someone agree knew read the book; apparently it rang true with people's experiences :-P