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2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: So...Nate Silver was right about Hillary winning Iowa. [View all]ErisDiscordia
(443 posts)54. You do know what a Pyrrhic Victory is, don't you?
A Pyrrhic victory is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. Someone who wins a Pyrrhic victory has been victorious in some way. However, the heavy toll negates any sense of achievement or profit. Another term for this would be "hollow victory".
The phrase Pyrrhic victory is named after king Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose army suffered irreplaceable casualties in defeating the Romans at Heraclea in 280 BC and Asculum in 279 BC during the Pyrrhic War. After the latter battle, Plutarch relates in a report by Dionysius:
The armies separated; and, it is said, Pyrrhus replied to one that gave him joy of his victory that one other such victory would utterly undo him. For he had lost a great part of the forces he brought with him, and almost all his particular friends and principal commanders; there were no others there to make recruits, and he found the confederates in Italy backward. On the other hand, as from a fountain continually flowing out of the city, the Roman camp was quickly and plentifully filled up with fresh men, not at all abating in courage for the loss they sustained, but even from their very anger gaining new force and resolution to go on with the war.
?Plutarch, Life of Pyrrhus
?Plutarch, Life of Pyrrhus
In both of Pyrrhus's victories, the Romans suffered greater casualties than Pyrrhus did. However, the Romans had a much larger supply of men from which to draw soldiers and their casualties did less damage to their war effort than Pyrrhus's casualties did to his.
The report is often quoted as
"Another such victory and I come back to Epirus alone",
or
"If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined."
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I bet Nate was acting like that guy with the rabbit's foot in the movie, "Used Cars!" nt
TheBlackAdder
Feb 2016
#58
She won't be able to do that again. I wonder how O'Malley feels about being used?
notadmblnd
Feb 2016
#29
I think he knew that could happen. I like him but I don't believe he a big eyed
roguevalley
Feb 2016
#51
It was enough to make him sweat. And to a supporter of the establishment, thats a good thing
AZ Progressive
Feb 2016
#5
By all means, please continue posting these obnoxious posts!! It's so good for Hillary's campaign.
reformist2
Feb 2016
#7
Well, given the way Hillary supporters are treated here, it seems that's done anyway.
Adrahil
Feb 2016
#40
How about asking some of the precious leaders not to do unfair tricks on Bernie Sanders - like
Cal33
Feb 2016
#35
Yes, going from a 30 point lead to a 2/10ths of a percentage point finish is quite a "win"
Ned_Devine
Feb 2016
#27
That's some crazy math formula that guessed she would win six out of six coin tosses.
Baitball Blogger
Feb 2016
#10
The guy has skills. Just don't use his NCAA bracket for any kind of refererence.
frylock
Feb 2016
#50
His prediction amounted to a coin toss. Bernie wins vs Hillary wins. Hillary won by the skin of
Ed Suspicious
Feb 2016
#62
It just goes to show that odds are tricky thing in absence of reproducibility.
redgreenandblue
Feb 2016
#46
Never read that about Rumsfeld. I think I understand probability pretty well.
redgreenandblue
Feb 2016
#79
He can never be *proven* wrong. In fact, "wrong" is arguably not applicable.
Donald Ian Rankin
Feb 2016
#36
Not to mention sending voters to O'Malley to deprive delegates from Bernie
AZ Progressive
Feb 2016
#28
Do you think bernie moved that much "right before the caucus?" I think his support has been gaining
Ed Suspicious
Feb 2016
#64
They were getting desperate last night. They tweeted, "If it's a tie, Hillary still wins..."
WhaTHellsgoingonhere
Feb 2016
#42
Yeap, notice the number of so called progressives who are against probability math now...
uponit7771
Feb 2016
#49
Remember in 2012 when we were so proud of ourselves for listening to people like Nate?
Cali_Democrat
Feb 2016
#55
Yeap, its emotion and not thinking. SC will show a lot... Sanders numbers in SC still suck...
uponit7771
Feb 2016
#60
Tactics like single payer? Keeping banks together? Keeping taxes at post-Reagan levels?
Gore1FL
Feb 2016
#90
PoC went to Hillary by 25% above Sanders after 3 months of campaiging in IA... he has 3 weeks to
uponit7771
Feb 2016
#89
My internet and cable went down. How did Nate's prediction about Trump winning in Iowa turn out?
Attorney in Texas
Feb 2016
#86