1 00:00:15,370 --> 00:00:27,770 Speaker 1: Pushkin eighteen fifty four. A gently sloping valley near the 2 00:00:27,850 --> 00:00:32,330 Speaker 1: village of Balaklava in Crimea. On one side of the valley, 3 00:00:32,970 --> 00:00:37,050 Speaker 1: Russian troops with cannons. On the other side of the valley. 4 00:00:37,890 --> 00:00:43,010 Speaker 1: Russian troops with cannons at the far end of the valley. Yes, 5 00:00:43,050 --> 00:00:47,930 Speaker 1: you've guessed it. Russian troops with cannons. This is the 6 00:00:48,010 --> 00:00:52,130 Speaker 1: Crimean War, the same grim conflict we heard about earlier 7 00:00:52,170 --> 00:00:56,570 Speaker 1: this season when Florence Nightingale treated six British soldiers. The 8 00:00:56,650 --> 00:01:00,370 Speaker 1: war was the global standoff of its day. The British, French, 9 00:01:00,410 --> 00:01:05,570 Speaker 1: and Turks were all worried about Russia's growing influence. Balaklava 10 00:01:05,690 --> 00:01:09,450 Speaker 1: is just outside Sevastopol, a strategic port on the Black Sea, 11 00:01:10,010 --> 00:01:14,530 Speaker 1: and the situation is delicately poised. With all their cannons, 12 00:01:14,570 --> 00:01:18,250 Speaker 1: the Russians are firmly in control of the valley. They've 13 00:01:18,250 --> 00:01:20,930 Speaker 1: just captured a bit more land and a few British cannons. 14 00:01:21,770 --> 00:01:25,050 Speaker 1: But now the commander of the British forces, General Raglan, 15 00:01:25,410 --> 00:01:29,970 Speaker 1: has ordered his cavalry to take those cannons back. General 16 00:01:30,050 --> 00:01:33,170 Speaker 1: Raglan watches to a telescope from his viewpoint on a 17 00:01:33,210 --> 00:01:37,370 Speaker 1: distant hilltop as his men on horseback ride towards the valley. 18 00:01:38,210 --> 00:01:41,970 Speaker 1: So far, so good. Now they should turn and climb 19 00:01:41,970 --> 00:01:45,170 Speaker 1: the slope to surprise the small band of Russians who 20 00:01:45,210 --> 00:01:48,770 Speaker 1: are hauling off the heavy British guns. But they don't. 21 00:01:49,610 --> 00:01:52,930 Speaker 1: They keep on going further and further down the valley 22 00:01:53,290 --> 00:01:56,850 Speaker 1: between the Russians on both sides, towards the Russians at 23 00:01:56,850 --> 00:02:01,850 Speaker 1: the end. What on earth are they thinking? Cannon to 24 00:02:01,930 --> 00:02:05,530 Speaker 1: the right of them, cannon to the left of them. 25 00:02:05,650 --> 00:02:10,050 Speaker 1: That's how the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson famously scribed the 26 00:02:10,130 --> 00:02:15,010 Speaker 1: Charge of the Light Brigade. Generations of British school children 27 00:02:15,090 --> 00:02:18,610 Speaker 1: learned from his poem about the six hundred horsemen and 28 00:02:18,690 --> 00:02:23,450 Speaker 1: their suicidal charge into a valley full of guns, into 29 00:02:23,490 --> 00:02:28,090 Speaker 1: the Valley of death rode the six hundred. Tennyson based 30 00:02:28,090 --> 00:02:31,250 Speaker 1: his poem on a breathless first hand account in The Times. 31 00:02:31,810 --> 00:02:35,090 Speaker 1: The Times, his war correspondent, was watching from the hilltop 32 00:02:35,450 --> 00:02:39,490 Speaker 1: alongside the horrified General Raglan. As it turned out, in 33 00:02:39,570 --> 00:02:42,730 Speaker 1: his rush to file the story, he had miscounted there 34 00:02:42,730 --> 00:02:46,170 Speaker 1: were nearer seven hundred men and the light Brigade. Tennyson 35 00:02:46,210 --> 00:02:49,050 Speaker 1: was annoyed when he got this fact check seven hundred 36 00:02:49,090 --> 00:02:51,810 Speaker 1: would ruin the meter of his poem. He decided to 37 00:02:51,850 --> 00:02:56,850 Speaker 1: leave it as it was. Boldly they rode and well 38 00:02:57,490 --> 00:03:01,250 Speaker 1: into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell, 39 00:03:01,490 --> 00:03:06,490 Speaker 1: rode the six hundred. But why were six or seven 40 00:03:06,570 --> 00:03:12,250 Speaker 1: hundred of Britain's finest cavalrymen charging suicidely straight at Russian cannons? 41 00:03:12,970 --> 00:03:20,330 Speaker 1: Tennyson got this bit right. The soldier knew someone had blundered. Indeed, 42 00:03:20,610 --> 00:03:27,490 Speaker 1: someone had blundered. But who and why? I'm Tim Harford, 43 00:03:27,890 --> 00:03:55,730 Speaker 1: and you're listening to cautionary tales. The infamous crimean blunder 44 00:03:55,970 --> 00:04:01,490 Speaker 1: involved three men, an impatient young captain, a frustrated bullying lord, 45 00:04:02,130 --> 00:04:06,650 Speaker 1: and an amiable old general. That's General Raglan. Let's take 46 00:04:06,650 --> 00:04:10,130 Speaker 1: a moment to get to know the general first. The Times, 47 00:04:10,130 --> 00:04:18,650 Speaker 1: his war correspondent, describes Ragland's personal charm, sweet smile, kindly glance, courteous, gracious, 48 00:04:18,850 --> 00:04:23,570 Speaker 1: gentle manner. And how about a character reference from Florence Nightingale. 49 00:04:23,890 --> 00:04:26,450 Speaker 1: It was impossible not to love him. He was not 50 00:04:26,530 --> 00:04:30,450 Speaker 1: a very great general, but he was a very good man. 51 00:04:31,530 --> 00:04:36,610 Speaker 1: Not a very great general. Raglan had spent most of 52 00:04:36,690 --> 00:04:40,730 Speaker 1: his long career as a number two, well into his sixties. 53 00:04:40,770 --> 00:04:43,770 Speaker 1: Now he was still new to the top job. He 54 00:04:43,850 --> 00:04:46,610 Speaker 1: might have been a very great administrator in peace time, 55 00:04:47,090 --> 00:04:49,730 Speaker 1: but it was forty years since he'd been on a battlefield, 56 00:04:50,250 --> 00:04:55,090 Speaker 1: let alone commanded any troops. Now General Raglan is hundreds 57 00:04:55,090 --> 00:04:58,090 Speaker 1: of feet up on top of a hill, the Sapoon Heights. 58 00:04:58,850 --> 00:05:01,970 Speaker 1: He lifts his telescope to his eye. He's got a 59 00:05:02,010 --> 00:05:05,410 Speaker 1: commanding view of the British soldiers down below. It's like 60 00:05:05,610 --> 00:05:08,970 Speaker 1: watching from a box in a theater. In the distance, 61 00:05:09,170 --> 00:05:11,450 Speaker 1: he can see the valley the Russian troops are defending 62 00:05:11,930 --> 00:05:14,770 Speaker 1: with cannons on the slopes on both sides, and at 63 00:05:14,770 --> 00:05:19,570 Speaker 1: the end it's eight o'clock in the morning. General Raglan 64 00:05:19,730 --> 00:05:23,810 Speaker 1: will send four fateful orders to the cavalry over the 65 00:05:23,810 --> 00:05:28,250 Speaker 1: course of that morning. He clears his throat and dictates 66 00:05:28,450 --> 00:05:32,130 Speaker 1: the first cavalry to take ground to the left of 67 00:05:32,170 --> 00:05:36,810 Speaker 1: the second line of readouts occupied by tucks. To get 68 00:05:36,810 --> 00:05:39,410 Speaker 1: the order to the cavalry, Raglan has to send a 69 00:05:39,450 --> 00:05:42,730 Speaker 1: messenger to ride the steep and winding path down the 70 00:05:42,770 --> 00:05:47,410 Speaker 1: Sappoon Heights, then gallop across the plain. It takes twenty minutes. 71 00:05:48,170 --> 00:05:51,530 Speaker 1: The recipient of the message is a man named Lord Lucan. 72 00:05:52,050 --> 00:05:55,650 Speaker 1: He's in charge of the cavalry, which includes the Light Brigade. 73 00:05:56,610 --> 00:06:02,250 Speaker 1: He reads the message cavalry to take Wait. This makes 74 00:06:02,290 --> 00:06:10,530 Speaker 1: no sense. Why are communications some times hard to understand? 75 00:06:11,650 --> 00:06:16,330 Speaker 1: The psychologist and linguist Stephen Pinker reckons the single biggest 76 00:06:16,370 --> 00:06:20,210 Speaker 1: reason is the curse of knowledge. That's a curious cousin 77 00:06:20,250 --> 00:06:24,090 Speaker 1: of the Dunning Kruger effect. With Dunning Krueger, we don't 78 00:06:24,090 --> 00:06:27,010 Speaker 1: know what we don't know. With the curse of knowledge, 79 00:06:27,530 --> 00:06:32,370 Speaker 1: we don't notice when we know something others don't. The 80 00:06:32,450 --> 00:06:36,490 Speaker 1: curse of knowledge was ingeniously demonstrated in an experiment by 81 00:06:36,490 --> 00:06:41,330 Speaker 1: a Stanford University psychology student called Elizabeth Newton. She put 82 00:06:41,410 --> 00:06:44,490 Speaker 1: volunteers into pairs and gave one of each pair a 83 00:06:44,610 --> 00:06:47,850 Speaker 1: list of well known songs. Choose a song, she said, 84 00:06:48,370 --> 00:06:51,170 Speaker 1: and tap it out with your finger on the desk 85 00:06:52,130 --> 00:06:59,770 Speaker 1: like this. The job of the second volunteer was simple. 86 00:07:00,330 --> 00:07:03,530 Speaker 1: Listen to the taps and then guess the tune. Did 87 00:07:03,530 --> 00:07:10,730 Speaker 1: you get that one? No, try another. If you don't 88 00:07:10,770 --> 00:07:14,330 Speaker 1: recognize the tunes, don't feel bad. Very few of the 89 00:07:14,370 --> 00:07:18,850 Speaker 1: listeners among Elizabeth Newton's experimental subjects managed to They guessed 90 00:07:18,850 --> 00:07:21,890 Speaker 1: correctly just two and a half percent of the time. 91 00:07:22,650 --> 00:07:25,730 Speaker 1: But here's the part that demonstrates the curse of knowledge. 92 00:07:26,050 --> 00:07:28,730 Speaker 1: She asked the people who'd done the tapping, if we 93 00:07:28,890 --> 00:07:31,890 Speaker 1: played your tapping to lots of listeners, how many would 94 00:07:31,890 --> 00:07:35,690 Speaker 1: correctly guess the tune the tappers reckoned. Around half of 95 00:07:35,690 --> 00:07:39,370 Speaker 1: the listeners would get it right. But remember, hardly any 96 00:07:39,410 --> 00:07:43,250 Speaker 1: of the listeners actually did. The tappers were wildly over 97 00:07:43,290 --> 00:07:47,330 Speaker 1: confident in their ability to convey music using only taps. 98 00:07:47,810 --> 00:07:52,770 Speaker 1: Why because in their heads they weren't just hearing the taps, 99 00:07:53,810 --> 00:08:06,410 Speaker 1: they were hearing this or this. The people doing the 100 00:08:06,450 --> 00:08:09,930 Speaker 1: tapping simply couldn't imagine what it be like to hear 101 00:08:10,170 --> 00:08:13,490 Speaker 1: only the taps without the knowledge of which tune the 102 00:08:13,570 --> 00:08:17,450 Speaker 1: taps were intended to convey. Much the same thing happens 103 00:08:17,490 --> 00:08:21,130 Speaker 1: when an expert gives a talk full of confusing jargon. 104 00:08:21,730 --> 00:08:24,890 Speaker 1: They don't realize it's jargon. To them, it's a bunch 105 00:08:24,930 --> 00:08:28,970 Speaker 1: of very familiar words with perfectly clear meanings. They can't 106 00:08:29,010 --> 00:08:31,930 Speaker 1: conceive of what it's like to be someone who doesn't 107 00:08:32,010 --> 00:08:36,770 Speaker 1: understand the curse of knowledge is a devilish curse, says 108 00:08:36,810 --> 00:08:40,770 Speaker 1: Stephen Pinker. We do not notice the curse. Because the 109 00:08:40,810 --> 00:08:45,330 Speaker 1: curse prevents us from noticing it. We sometimes forget that 110 00:08:45,370 --> 00:08:48,250 Speaker 1: the person we're talking to might not have the context 111 00:08:48,330 --> 00:08:51,730 Speaker 1: to make sense of what we're saying. We mean one thing, 112 00:08:52,490 --> 00:09:03,090 Speaker 1: they hear something else entirely Down at the mouth of 113 00:09:03,130 --> 00:09:08,570 Speaker 1: the valley, Lord Lucan reads General Raglan's message again, cavalry 114 00:09:08,610 --> 00:09:10,850 Speaker 1: to take ground to the left to the second line 115 00:09:10,850 --> 00:09:15,090 Speaker 1: of redoubts occupied by Turks. It still makes no sense 116 00:09:15,970 --> 00:09:22,810 Speaker 1: redoubts occupied by Turks. There aren't any redoubts are temporary fortifications. 117 00:09:22,890 --> 00:09:26,650 Speaker 1: That's where the British cannons had been guarded by their allies, 118 00:09:26,690 --> 00:09:30,690 Speaker 1: the Turkish army. The Russians had captured them already that morning, 119 00:09:31,090 --> 00:09:36,570 Speaker 1: so the Turks weren't occupying the redoubts anymore. Still must 120 00:09:36,610 --> 00:09:41,090 Speaker 1: be what Ragland meant second line of redoubts. Isn't there 121 00:09:41,090 --> 00:09:45,290 Speaker 1: only one line? Yes? Can't help you there, Take ground 122 00:09:45,330 --> 00:09:49,890 Speaker 1: to the lift. Who's lift? Lift? Of what my lift? 123 00:09:50,410 --> 00:09:54,410 Speaker 1: Raglands lived? Who is he looking from anyway? There's the 124 00:09:54,530 --> 00:09:58,090 Speaker 1: curse of knowledge. Ragland had a perfect view from high 125 00:09:58,170 --> 00:10:00,890 Speaker 1: on a hilltop. He knew exactly what he meant by 126 00:10:01,330 --> 00:10:05,090 Speaker 1: to the left. He forgot that Lucan down below had 127 00:10:05,090 --> 00:10:08,530 Speaker 1: a different point of view. A more experienced commander might 128 00:10:08,570 --> 00:10:11,490 Speaker 1: have made sure to write something his troops couldn't possibly 129 00:10:11,530 --> 00:10:16,370 Speaker 1: misinterpret east or west, not right or left, as you 130 00:10:16,490 --> 00:10:19,650 Speaker 1: might have guessed. The puzzled Lord Lucan is the second 131 00:10:19,690 --> 00:10:23,890 Speaker 1: of our three main characters. He's the frustrated, bullying lord. 132 00:10:24,610 --> 00:10:28,050 Speaker 1: Unlike the amiable old general, Lord Lucan is not a 133 00:10:28,090 --> 00:10:32,690 Speaker 1: popular man. Lord Lucan had risen quickly through the ranks 134 00:10:32,690 --> 00:10:35,930 Speaker 1: of the British Army, a lieutenant colonel in his twenties. 135 00:10:36,530 --> 00:10:40,170 Speaker 1: Was this because of his military genius. No, if you 136 00:10:40,210 --> 00:10:42,490 Speaker 1: were good at your job, you might hope to get promoted, 137 00:10:42,850 --> 00:10:45,730 Speaker 1: but the only sure way to the top was money. 138 00:10:46,450 --> 00:10:49,050 Speaker 1: The British military sold off its top ranks to the 139 00:10:49,130 --> 00:10:52,930 Speaker 1: highest bidders. Lucan was a lieutenant colonel because he'd paid 140 00:10:52,970 --> 00:10:56,450 Speaker 1: to be one millions of dollars in today's money. Lord 141 00:10:56,530 --> 00:11:00,130 Speaker 1: Lucan soon got a reputation as a harsh, vindictive leader. 142 00:11:00,530 --> 00:11:04,930 Speaker 1: He'd had soldiers flogged for trivial misdemeanors. But then Lucan 143 00:11:05,130 --> 00:11:08,250 Speaker 1: stepped back from the army. It spent most of the 144 00:11:08,290 --> 00:11:12,850 Speaker 1: last two decades running his family estate in Ireland's County Mayo. 145 00:11:13,530 --> 00:11:16,850 Speaker 1: The smallholders who farmed his vast tracts of land were 146 00:11:16,890 --> 00:11:20,970 Speaker 1: struggling to pay their rent, and Lucan decided to modernize. 147 00:11:21,370 --> 00:11:24,290 Speaker 1: He had merged their small plots of land into bigger 148 00:11:24,370 --> 00:11:27,490 Speaker 1: farms that would be more productive. But to do that 149 00:11:28,330 --> 00:11:32,930 Speaker 1: he first had to force out his existing tenants. Lucan 150 00:11:33,290 --> 00:11:37,730 Speaker 1: was pitiless. He hired crowbar brigades of fifty men to 151 00:11:37,810 --> 00:11:42,370 Speaker 1: demolish his tenants houses. When the potato famine hit, he 152 00:11:42,490 --> 00:11:46,570 Speaker 1: kept going. Here's one survivor's account of the winter of 153 00:11:46,730 --> 00:11:53,290 Speaker 1: eighteen forty six in County Mayo. Sick and aged, little 154 00:11:53,370 --> 00:11:56,690 Speaker 1: children and women with child were alike thrust forth into 155 00:11:56,730 --> 00:11:59,970 Speaker 1: the cold snows of winter, and to prevent their return, 156 00:12:00,010 --> 00:12:03,730 Speaker 1: their cabins were leveled to the ground. The majority, rendered 157 00:12:03,730 --> 00:12:07,090 Speaker 1: penniless by the years of famine, wandered aimlessly about the 158 00:12:07,210 --> 00:12:10,570 Speaker 1: roads and bogs till they found refuge in the workhouse 159 00:12:11,250 --> 00:12:15,410 Speaker 1: or the grave. Lord Lucan, as I said, was not 160 00:12:15,730 --> 00:12:19,170 Speaker 1: a popular man. Now he was back in the army. 161 00:12:19,570 --> 00:12:22,770 Speaker 1: He'd swapped the crowbar brigades for the cavalry, and he 162 00:12:22,890 --> 00:12:26,090 Speaker 1: was struggling to work out exactly where General Raglan wanted 163 00:12:26,170 --> 00:12:29,650 Speaker 1: him to position his troops. He asked Ragland's messenger to 164 00:12:29,690 --> 00:12:32,450 Speaker 1: stay with him while he finished the maneuver, just to 165 00:12:32,450 --> 00:12:35,650 Speaker 1: make sure he'd understood what the general had in mind, 166 00:12:36,010 --> 00:12:39,370 Speaker 1: and this time he had. But there were three more 167 00:12:39,370 --> 00:12:48,890 Speaker 1: messages to come. Cautionary tales will return in a moment. 168 00:12:55,610 --> 00:12:59,210 Speaker 1: Why would the British Army sell ranks to the highest bidder? 169 00:12:59,810 --> 00:13:02,490 Speaker 1: It seems to make no sense. Wouldn't you want your 170 00:13:02,570 --> 00:13:04,490 Speaker 1: army to be run by the people who were best 171 00:13:04,530 --> 00:13:08,090 Speaker 1: at running an army. But the purchase system did have 172 00:13:08,210 --> 00:13:10,730 Speaker 1: some logic behind it, at least if you were a 173 00:13:10,770 --> 00:13:14,210 Speaker 1: part of Britain's ruling class. This was a time of 174 00:13:14,290 --> 00:13:18,090 Speaker 1: revolutions in Europe. If your army was run by capable 175 00:13:18,170 --> 00:13:21,410 Speaker 1: soldiers from the middle or lower classes, well that was risky. 176 00:13:22,090 --> 00:13:25,250 Speaker 1: The army might side with the people against the elite. 177 00:13:26,130 --> 00:13:29,290 Speaker 1: By selling off ranks to the highest bidders, you made 178 00:13:29,290 --> 00:13:33,010 Speaker 1: sure that could never happen, because only the landed gentry 179 00:13:33,010 --> 00:13:37,250 Speaker 1: could afford to be in charge. There was, of course, 180 00:13:37,290 --> 00:13:40,970 Speaker 1: a downside to this arrangement. Capable soldiers had to take 181 00:13:41,090 --> 00:13:45,810 Speaker 1: orders from incompetent aristocrats like the amiable old General Raglan 182 00:13:46,210 --> 00:13:50,930 Speaker 1: or the frustrated bullying Lord Lucan. Not surprisingly, the capable 183 00:13:51,010 --> 00:13:56,050 Speaker 1: soldiers sometimes resented this. It's time to meet the third 184 00:13:56,050 --> 00:13:59,410 Speaker 1: and final man who'll play a pivotal role in the blunder. 185 00:13:59,810 --> 00:14:04,970 Speaker 1: The impatient young Captain Louis Nolan is up on the 186 00:14:05,010 --> 00:14:09,730 Speaker 1: Sapoon Heights with General Raglan, waiting for his chance to shine. 187 00:14:10,730 --> 00:14:13,130 Speaker 1: He wasn't the son of a lord. His father was 188 00:14:13,170 --> 00:14:16,570 Speaker 1: a soldier and diplomat. The sons of lords went to 189 00:14:16,650 --> 00:14:21,730 Speaker 1: expensive private schools and studied ancient Greek. Nolan's school taught 190 00:14:21,810 --> 00:14:28,850 Speaker 1: him more practical subjects, engineering, military history, fencing, horsemanship. He 191 00:14:28,970 --> 00:14:32,810 Speaker 1: quickly gained a reputation as the army's most brilliant horseman, 192 00:14:33,210 --> 00:14:36,850 Speaker 1: and he quickly developed strong opinions on everything the army 193 00:14:36,930 --> 00:14:40,610 Speaker 1: was doing wrong. Still, just in his early thirties, he 194 00:14:40,650 --> 00:14:45,330 Speaker 1: wrote a book Cavalry, Its History and Tactics, and he 195 00:14:45,370 --> 00:14:48,370 Speaker 1: couldn't resist the odd swipe at the posh buffoons in 196 00:14:48,450 --> 00:14:52,450 Speaker 1: charge right up in golden letters. In every riding school 197 00:14:52,490 --> 00:14:57,290 Speaker 1: and in every stable, horses are taught not by harshness 198 00:14:57,330 --> 00:15:02,130 Speaker 1: but by gentleness. Where the officers are classical, the golden 199 00:15:02,210 --> 00:15:05,330 Speaker 1: rule may be given in Greek as well as in English. 200 00:15:05,850 --> 00:15:09,290 Speaker 1: This kind of snyde remark didn't endear him to the 201 00:15:09,330 --> 00:15:13,850 Speaker 1: higher ranks. Yes, they saw Captain Nolan's skills, but they 202 00:15:13,890 --> 00:15:16,690 Speaker 1: also thought he was far too young to be publishing 203 00:15:16,690 --> 00:15:21,690 Speaker 1: his opinions A great man, said one in his own estimation. 204 00:15:25,010 --> 00:15:27,890 Speaker 1: In the weeks before the Battle at Balaclava, the British 205 00:15:28,010 --> 00:15:31,370 Speaker 1: army made its way through Crimea, and the higher ups 206 00:15:31,410 --> 00:15:36,490 Speaker 1: made decision after decision that had infuriated Captain Nolan. Twice 207 00:15:36,570 --> 00:15:40,490 Speaker 1: the cavalry came across an unexpected chance to attack Russian troops, 208 00:15:41,050 --> 00:15:46,170 Speaker 1: and twice Lord Lucan held them back. There were one 209 00:15:46,170 --> 00:15:49,970 Speaker 1: thousand British cavalry looking on at a beaten army retreating 210 00:15:50,170 --> 00:15:53,730 Speaker 1: within a ten minutes gallop of them enough to drive 211 00:15:53,810 --> 00:15:58,570 Speaker 1: one mad. The decision to be cautious wasn't Lord Lucan's fault. 212 00:15:59,010 --> 00:16:04,330 Speaker 1: The orders came from General Raglan. Lucan was frustrated too. Nonetheless, 213 00:16:04,770 --> 00:16:08,290 Speaker 1: he got the blame. He also got a nickname, not 214 00:16:08,450 --> 00:16:12,490 Speaker 1: so much Lord Lucan as Lord look On Am I right? 215 00:16:13,450 --> 00:16:18,610 Speaker 1: It wasn't fair, but it's stuck and it stung. Lucan 216 00:16:18,730 --> 00:16:21,770 Speaker 1: didn't want to be known as a dithering bystander. And 217 00:16:21,930 --> 00:16:24,850 Speaker 1: that's another reason he was irked. And he read General 218 00:16:24,930 --> 00:16:28,090 Speaker 1: Ragland's first order of the day. It wasn't just that 219 00:16:28,130 --> 00:16:31,010 Speaker 1: the meaning of the words was hard to pass. Once 220 00:16:31,050 --> 00:16:34,770 Speaker 1: it had understood them. Lucan realized this was yet another 221 00:16:35,090 --> 00:16:39,690 Speaker 1: humiliating retreat. He had deliberately positioned his forces close to 222 00:16:39,690 --> 00:16:41,770 Speaker 1: where the Russians would have to pass if they were 223 00:16:41,770 --> 00:16:44,730 Speaker 1: to attack. Raglan was telling him to be cautious again, 224 00:16:45,090 --> 00:16:51,650 Speaker 1: to move the cavalry further back back up on his 225 00:16:51,770 --> 00:16:56,810 Speaker 1: vantage point. Meanwhile, the old general changed his mind. Perhaps 226 00:16:56,850 --> 00:16:59,650 Speaker 1: Lord Lucan had got the positioning right in the first place. 227 00:17:00,050 --> 00:17:03,170 Speaker 1: Half an hour after sending his first order, General Raglan 228 00:17:03,490 --> 00:17:07,690 Speaker 1: sent his second ed squadrons of heavy dragoons to be 229 00:17:07,770 --> 00:17:13,410 Speaker 1: detached towards bell Clover. That meant half of Lucan's cavalry 230 00:17:13,690 --> 00:17:17,650 Speaker 1: the heavy brigade, as opposed to the light. Another messenger 231 00:17:17,730 --> 00:17:20,530 Speaker 1: on horseback gingerly picked his way down the side of 232 00:17:20,530 --> 00:17:23,610 Speaker 1: the Sapoon Heights and galloped to Lord Lucan to hand 233 00:17:23,690 --> 00:17:27,330 Speaker 1: him the slip of paper. Lucan read it and rolled 234 00:17:27,370 --> 00:17:30,690 Speaker 1: his eyes great Now he had to move back to 235 00:17:30,690 --> 00:17:33,050 Speaker 1: where he had been, but with only half his troops. 236 00:17:33,730 --> 00:17:37,010 Speaker 1: That wouldn't help if they ran into any Russians, and 237 00:17:37,090 --> 00:17:40,770 Speaker 1: they did, but luckily the Russians weren't expecting it. The 238 00:17:40,810 --> 00:17:46,570 Speaker 1: two forces skirmished briefly, and the Russians retreated. Up on 239 00:17:46,690 --> 00:17:52,210 Speaker 1: his hilltop, General Raglans spied an opportunity with that Russian retreat. 240 00:17:52,610 --> 00:17:56,090 Speaker 1: Perhaps he could recapture those British cannons the Russians had 241 00:17:56,090 --> 00:17:59,690 Speaker 1: taken earlier, the ones nearby on the Causeway Heights, the 242 00:17:59,770 --> 00:18:03,810 Speaker 1: slope to one side of the valley. Raglan, being a 243 00:18:03,890 --> 00:18:06,890 Speaker 1: cautious man, didn't want to send the cavalry on their own. 244 00:18:07,330 --> 00:18:10,370 Speaker 1: He'd rather wait for the infantry soldiers to back them up. 245 00:18:11,090 --> 00:18:14,410 Speaker 1: But where were the infantry. He'd sent a message to 246 00:18:14,450 --> 00:18:17,810 Speaker 1: their camp telling them to come right away. As it happened, 247 00:18:18,130 --> 00:18:21,290 Speaker 1: the urgency of Ragland's message had been lost on the 248 00:18:21,330 --> 00:18:25,050 Speaker 1: infantry leader. He had decided he could finish his breakfast 249 00:18:25,090 --> 00:18:29,370 Speaker 1: before setting off. But Ragland didn't know that he expected 250 00:18:29,370 --> 00:18:33,170 Speaker 1: the infantry to come into view at any moment. And anyway, 251 00:18:33,650 --> 00:18:36,290 Speaker 1: there weren't that many Russians near those guns on the 252 00:18:36,330 --> 00:18:39,290 Speaker 1: Causeway Heights. The cavalry could take them on their own 253 00:18:39,290 --> 00:18:43,970 Speaker 1: if needed. Ragland dictated his third order of the morning 254 00:18:44,450 --> 00:18:47,850 Speaker 1: Cavalry to advance and take advantage of any opportunity to 255 00:18:48,010 --> 00:18:51,370 Speaker 1: recover the heights. They will be supported by infantry, which 256 00:18:51,410 --> 00:18:56,170 Speaker 1: have been ordered. Another messenger riding cautiously down the steep slope, 257 00:18:56,450 --> 00:19:02,610 Speaker 1: another slip of paper handed to Lord Lucan, Another exasperated sigh. 258 00:19:02,810 --> 00:19:06,010 Speaker 1: It will be supported by infantry. What does that mean? 259 00:19:06,770 --> 00:19:08,730 Speaker 1: Does he want us to advance now and hope the 260 00:19:09,130 --> 00:19:11,650 Speaker 1: tree will arrive later, or are we supposed to wait 261 00:19:11,690 --> 00:19:15,810 Speaker 1: for the infantry to arrive and then advance. General Raglan 262 00:19:15,930 --> 00:19:20,290 Speaker 1: had meant advance straight away. Lord Lucan decided he should 263 00:19:20,290 --> 00:19:23,290 Speaker 1: wait for the infantry. There was still no sign of them, 264 00:19:23,410 --> 00:19:26,370 Speaker 1: so the cavalrymen decided they might as well relax for 265 00:19:26,410 --> 00:19:29,930 Speaker 1: a while. They got off their horses, lit their pipes, 266 00:19:30,370 --> 00:19:33,890 Speaker 1: unscrewed the caps on their flasks of rum. Some had 267 00:19:33,890 --> 00:19:38,050 Speaker 1: brought hard boiled eggs from breakfast up on the hillside. 268 00:19:38,410 --> 00:19:42,850 Speaker 1: General Raglan watched through his telescope in mounting fury. Why 269 00:19:42,890 --> 00:19:46,250 Speaker 1: were the cavalry smoking and drinking? He told them to advance. 270 00:19:46,770 --> 00:19:50,050 Speaker 1: He turned his telescope towards those captured British cannons on 271 00:19:50,090 --> 00:19:54,050 Speaker 1: the heights. Could he see Russian soldiers starting to drag 272 00:19:54,090 --> 00:19:56,610 Speaker 1: away those cannons? That's what it looked like. There was 273 00:19:56,650 --> 00:20:02,370 Speaker 1: no time to lose. Ragland dictated his fourth and fatal order. 274 00:20:04,170 --> 00:20:07,450 Speaker 1: Lord Raglan wishes the cavalry to advance rapidly to the front, 275 00:20:07,810 --> 00:20:10,930 Speaker 1: follow the enemy, and try to prevent the enemy carrying 276 00:20:10,970 --> 00:20:15,170 Speaker 1: away the guns. Raglan wanted the message to get to 277 00:20:15,210 --> 00:20:18,130 Speaker 1: Lord Lucan as quickly as possible, so he looked around 278 00:20:18,170 --> 00:20:20,250 Speaker 1: at the horseman he had with him on the hilltop. 279 00:20:21,050 --> 00:20:24,930 Speaker 1: Who among them would be the swiftest rider? Send Nolan. 280 00:20:25,850 --> 00:20:29,410 Speaker 1: The impatient young captain eagerly took the message and geed 281 00:20:29,490 --> 00:20:33,090 Speaker 1: up his horse. Raglan called after him, tell Lord Lucan, 282 00:20:33,170 --> 00:20:38,010 Speaker 1: the gvalry is to attack immediately. At last, Nolan rode off, 283 00:20:38,090 --> 00:20:42,450 Speaker 1: exultant after weeks of frustration, Finally the cavalry had something 284 00:20:42,490 --> 00:20:46,130 Speaker 1: to do, and he Nolan would get to deliver the 285 00:20:46,250 --> 00:20:50,050 Speaker 1: order to that dithering fool Lord look on. Captain Nolan 286 00:20:50,290 --> 00:20:53,170 Speaker 1: urged his horse on as it slithered and stumbled down 287 00:20:53,210 --> 00:20:56,530 Speaker 1: the steep side of the Sapoon Heights. He galloped the 288 00:20:56,610 --> 00:21:00,610 Speaker 1: last mile towards Lord Lucan and thrust the message into 289 00:21:00,650 --> 00:21:05,130 Speaker 1: his hand and runs rapidly to the front, which front 290 00:21:05,970 --> 00:21:11,650 Speaker 1: prevent the enemy carrying away the guns guns. Nolan watched 291 00:21:11,730 --> 00:21:17,770 Speaker 1: Lucan trying to figure it out. His patients snapped. General 292 00:21:17,850 --> 00:21:22,730 Speaker 1: Ragland's orders are that the cavalry should attack immediately. A tech, 293 00:21:22,810 --> 00:21:28,730 Speaker 1: sir te what guns, sir? Where? And what to do? There? 294 00:21:28,770 --> 00:21:32,410 Speaker 1: My lord? There is your enemy, There are your guns. 295 00:21:32,850 --> 00:21:35,530 Speaker 1: Nolan swept out a hand in the general direction of 296 00:21:36,970 --> 00:21:40,730 Speaker 1: well of what exactly it looked to Lucan like Captain 297 00:21:40,810 --> 00:21:44,290 Speaker 1: Nolan was pointing right down the valley towards the many 298 00:21:44,370 --> 00:21:47,850 Speaker 1: Russian cannons arrayed at the far end. There is your enemy, 299 00:21:48,650 --> 00:21:55,130 Speaker 1: there are your guns. Lucan gulped up on the hilltop. 300 00:21:55,490 --> 00:21:59,730 Speaker 1: General Raglan was oblivious. It simply hadn't occurred to him 301 00:21:59,770 --> 00:22:04,050 Speaker 1: that there could be any ambiguity about what he wanted. Obviously, 302 00:22:04,130 --> 00:22:06,570 Speaker 1: this fourth order was a follow up to the third, 303 00:22:07,210 --> 00:22:10,370 Speaker 1: you know, the one that said recover the heights. So 304 00:22:10,450 --> 00:22:15,290 Speaker 1: when he said advanced to the front, he meant the heights, obviously, 305 00:22:15,930 --> 00:22:19,370 Speaker 1: and when he said the gums, he meant the British 306 00:22:19,410 --> 00:22:23,290 Speaker 1: cannons that had been captured on the heights. That was obvious, 307 00:22:24,170 --> 00:22:29,210 Speaker 1: wasn't it not? To Lord Lucan, all he heard was 308 00:22:34,250 --> 00:22:38,090 Speaker 1: the curse of Knowledge was about to destroy the Light 309 00:22:38,170 --> 00:22:53,770 Speaker 1: Brigade cautionary tales will return shortly. In the nineteen sixties 310 00:22:53,810 --> 00:22:58,530 Speaker 1: and nineteen seventies, the computing Titan IBM employed a Dutch 311 00:22:58,570 --> 00:23:02,570 Speaker 1: psychologist called Gate Hofstader to fly around the world asking 312 00:23:02,690 --> 00:23:06,930 Speaker 1: questions of their employees in different countries. Questions like this, 313 00:23:08,090 --> 00:23:12,330 Speaker 1: how frequently in your experience does the following problem occur? 314 00:23:13,010 --> 00:23:18,450 Speaker 1: Employees being afraid to express disagreement with their managers. IBM 315 00:23:18,570 --> 00:23:22,770 Speaker 1: wanted to understand how workplace culture differed from country to country. 316 00:23:23,210 --> 00:23:27,690 Speaker 1: Were people collectivist or individualist, sticklers for rules or happy 317 00:23:27,690 --> 00:23:32,210 Speaker 1: to improvise, and what was their attitude to authority. Hofstader 318 00:23:32,330 --> 00:23:36,170 Speaker 1: came up with an idea he called power distance. In 319 00:23:36,210 --> 00:23:39,530 Speaker 1: a culture with low power distance, an employee who gets 320 00:23:39,530 --> 00:23:44,490 Speaker 1: an apparently stupid instruction feels free to say he's sure, boss. 321 00:23:45,530 --> 00:23:50,090 Speaker 1: Where the power distance is high, the employees silently gulps 322 00:23:50,130 --> 00:23:55,770 Speaker 1: and carries out the stupid instruction. Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers 323 00:23:56,130 --> 00:23:59,650 Speaker 1: describes how countries with a high power distance used to 324 00:23:59,690 --> 00:24:04,250 Speaker 1: have more fatal plane crashes. Captains and first officers spend 325 00:24:04,290 --> 00:24:07,250 Speaker 1: about the same amount of time at the controls, but 326 00:24:07,370 --> 00:24:10,850 Speaker 1: crashes would happen more often when the captain was flying. 327 00:24:11,250 --> 00:24:14,410 Speaker 1: If the first officer was flying badly, the captain would 328 00:24:14,450 --> 00:24:18,330 Speaker 1: tell them. If the captain was flying badly, the first 329 00:24:18,370 --> 00:24:25,610 Speaker 1: officer might not. Power distance is high in Korean culture. 330 00:24:26,130 --> 00:24:29,850 Speaker 1: In nineteen ninety seven, Korean air flight eight zero one 331 00:24:30,330 --> 00:24:34,490 Speaker 1: was descending into Guam. The captain was tired. He wasn't 332 00:24:34,530 --> 00:24:37,730 Speaker 1: thinking straight. He was peering out of the cockpit window 333 00:24:37,770 --> 00:24:40,730 Speaker 1: to try to spot the runway. It seems he hadn't 334 00:24:40,770 --> 00:24:45,170 Speaker 1: realized that there were dark clouds ahead. The runway wouldn't 335 00:24:45,210 --> 00:24:48,610 Speaker 1: be visible. He should be relying on the instruments instead. 336 00:24:49,850 --> 00:24:52,690 Speaker 1: The first officer knew what was happening, but he didn't 337 00:24:52,690 --> 00:24:57,250 Speaker 1: want to challenge the captain directly. Instead, he pointed at 338 00:24:57,250 --> 00:25:00,770 Speaker 1: the weather radar and dropped a hint. Don't you think 339 00:25:00,810 --> 00:25:04,810 Speaker 1: it rains more in this area? Here? The captain was 340 00:25:04,850 --> 00:25:08,890 Speaker 1: too distracted to understand. He kept on looking outside where 341 00:25:09,090 --> 00:25:12,770 Speaker 1: that runway. The flight engineer knew what was happening too, 342 00:25:13,170 --> 00:25:17,210 Speaker 1: He tried an even weaker hint. Captain. The weather radar 343 00:25:17,330 --> 00:25:21,370 Speaker 1: has helped us a lot. Neither said what they must 344 00:25:21,370 --> 00:25:25,290 Speaker 1: have been thinking, Captain, you can't land the plane by 345 00:25:25,330 --> 00:25:29,570 Speaker 1: looking outside. The weather's too bad, And neither said another 346 00:25:29,610 --> 00:25:33,610 Speaker 1: word as the captain flew the plane through a dark 347 00:25:33,690 --> 00:25:41,970 Speaker 1: cloud and into a hillside. Airlines now train their pilots 348 00:25:42,010 --> 00:25:44,290 Speaker 1: on how to speak up if they think the captain 349 00:25:44,410 --> 00:25:48,050 Speaker 1: is making a mistake, But on the battlefield in Balaclava 350 00:25:48,170 --> 00:25:52,170 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifty four there had been no such training. 351 00:25:52,850 --> 00:25:55,610 Speaker 1: The curse of knowledge had set the blunder in motion, 352 00:25:56,090 --> 00:26:00,130 Speaker 1: and power distance was about to seal the deal. It 353 00:26:00,290 --> 00:26:04,210 Speaker 1: seemed to Lord Luken that General Raglan wanted the cavalry 354 00:26:04,410 --> 00:26:08,130 Speaker 1: to embark on a suicidal charge down the valley. Well, 355 00:26:08,130 --> 00:26:13,050 Speaker 1: then that's what they'd have to do. Alfred Lord Tennyson's 356 00:26:13,090 --> 00:26:17,370 Speaker 1: poem sums up the lot of the soldier theirs not 357 00:26:17,490 --> 00:26:21,130 Speaker 1: to make reply theirs, not to reason why theirs, but 358 00:26:21,410 --> 00:26:27,450 Speaker 1: to do and die. Actually, Lord Lucan would have had 359 00:26:27,530 --> 00:26:31,490 Speaker 1: some scope to make reply and reason why. The power 360 00:26:31,490 --> 00:26:36,570 Speaker 1: distance here was complicated. Lucan outranked Captain Nolan, but Nolan 361 00:26:36,730 --> 00:26:41,050 Speaker 1: was speaking on behalf of General Raglan. Lucan couldn't refuse 362 00:26:41,170 --> 00:26:44,770 Speaker 1: Raglan's order. But he could have pressed Nolan to explain it, 363 00:26:44,890 --> 00:26:48,090 Speaker 1: to make sure he understood. That's exactly what he had 364 00:26:48,130 --> 00:26:51,170 Speaker 1: done with a messenger who delivered the first ambiguous order 365 00:26:51,410 --> 00:26:54,690 Speaker 1: to move his troops to the left. But this time 366 00:26:55,130 --> 00:26:59,010 Speaker 1: he didn't. Perhaps he was angry about the insolence with 367 00:26:59,050 --> 00:27:02,370 Speaker 1: which young Nolan was treating him. Perhaps he was worried 368 00:27:02,410 --> 00:27:06,090 Speaker 1: about how it would appear Lord look On wriggling out 369 00:27:06,090 --> 00:27:10,450 Speaker 1: of action once again. At any rate, he simply glared 370 00:27:10,450 --> 00:27:14,170 Speaker 1: at Nolan, then rode off to talk to the light brigade. 371 00:27:14,930 --> 00:27:17,290 Speaker 1: They were closest to the valley. They'd have to leave 372 00:27:17,330 --> 00:27:22,730 Speaker 1: the charge. The leader of the Light Brigade was Lord Cardigan, 373 00:27:23,010 --> 00:27:27,090 Speaker 1: another wealthy aristocrat who had bought his position. Cardigan had 374 00:27:27,090 --> 00:27:30,250 Speaker 1: only just appeared on the battlefield. He wasn't camping with 375 00:27:30,330 --> 00:27:33,690 Speaker 1: the soldiers. He'd had his yacht sailed over from England 376 00:27:33,930 --> 00:27:37,050 Speaker 1: and moored in a nearby harbor. He often pitched up 377 00:27:37,130 --> 00:27:40,410 Speaker 1: late after a good sleep and a leisurely breakfast. The 378 00:27:40,450 --> 00:27:44,530 Speaker 1: noble yachtsman, the soldiers called him. He was also Lord 379 00:27:44,610 --> 00:27:50,210 Speaker 1: Lucan's brother in law. They hated each other. Lord Cardigan, 380 00:27:50,810 --> 00:27:53,450 Speaker 1: you are to advance down the valley with a light brigade. 381 00:27:53,970 --> 00:27:57,730 Speaker 1: I will follow and support with the heavy brigade. Certainly, Sir, 382 00:27:58,090 --> 00:28:00,330 Speaker 1: would allow me to point out to you that the 383 00:28:00,410 --> 00:28:03,210 Speaker 1: Russians have a battery in the valley on our front, 384 00:28:03,410 --> 00:28:07,690 Speaker 1: and batteries of the riflemen on both sides. I know it. 385 00:28:08,450 --> 00:28:11,970 Speaker 1: The General Regland will have it. We have no choice 386 00:28:11,970 --> 00:28:17,450 Speaker 1: but to obey. Cardigan readed his troops. Every last one 387 00:28:17,490 --> 00:28:20,570 Speaker 1: of them could see how crazy this was, that it 388 00:28:20,570 --> 00:28:23,690 Speaker 1: could achieve nothing, and they'd need a miracle to survive. 389 00:28:24,610 --> 00:28:30,290 Speaker 1: The soldiers knew someone had blundered. How well they were soldiers. 390 00:28:30,890 --> 00:28:37,890 Speaker 1: Orders were orders. The bugle sounded. Cardigan kept the pace steady. 391 00:28:38,370 --> 00:28:40,410 Speaker 1: There was a mile and a half to the end 392 00:28:40,450 --> 00:28:43,690 Speaker 1: of the valley. The horses couldn't charge at full speed 393 00:28:43,730 --> 00:28:48,730 Speaker 1: all that way. But one soldier seemed impatient. He broke 394 00:28:48,850 --> 00:28:52,450 Speaker 1: ranks and rode out in front. It was Captain Nolan. 395 00:28:53,410 --> 00:28:57,210 Speaker 1: What was he doing. Perhaps he'd only just understood the 396 00:28:57,250 --> 00:28:59,930 Speaker 1: blunder that was about to unfold and was trying to 397 00:29:00,010 --> 00:29:04,450 Speaker 1: change the light brigades's direction. Perhaps the impatient young captain 398 00:29:04,530 --> 00:29:07,610 Speaker 1: just wanted to be front and center. We shall never know. 399 00:29:09,250 --> 00:29:13,050 Speaker 1: Sooner had Captain Nolan ridden ahead than a Russian shell 400 00:29:13,170 --> 00:29:17,930 Speaker 1: exploded right in front of him, and a shard of 401 00:29:17,970 --> 00:29:23,450 Speaker 1: hot metal ripped through his chest. Nolan was the first 402 00:29:23,490 --> 00:29:28,170 Speaker 1: to die. He was not the last, struck full in 403 00:29:28,210 --> 00:29:31,850 Speaker 1: the face. Has blood and brains were spattering us who 404 00:29:31,890 --> 00:29:34,450 Speaker 1: rode near streaks of fire about two feet long and 405 00:29:34,490 --> 00:29:36,570 Speaker 1: a foot thick, in the center of a gush of 406 00:29:36,850 --> 00:29:41,010 Speaker 1: thick white smoke, cannonballs tearing the earth up, and musket 407 00:29:41,010 --> 00:29:44,570 Speaker 1: balls coming like hail. Bold graymare kept alongside of me 408 00:29:44,690 --> 00:29:48,730 Speaker 1: for some distance, tearing out her entrance as she galloped. 409 00:29:48,890 --> 00:29:52,770 Speaker 1: Had his head blown off. Rode about thirty yards before 410 00:29:52,770 --> 00:29:57,010 Speaker 1: he fell. Poor dumb brutes galloping a boatlow and numbers 411 00:29:57,050 --> 00:30:03,050 Speaker 1: the marred wild beasts. My overalls are massive bloods. The flame, 412 00:30:03,970 --> 00:30:07,010 Speaker 1: the smoke, the raw were in our faces. It is 413 00:30:07,050 --> 00:30:09,930 Speaker 1: not an exaggeration to compare the sense to that of 414 00:30:10,050 --> 00:30:32,570 Speaker 1: riding into the bulk of a volcaneog up on the 415 00:30:32,650 --> 00:30:38,450 Speaker 1: Sappoon Heights. General Raglan watched dumbfounded as the light Brigade 416 00:30:38,730 --> 00:30:43,770 Speaker 1: disappeared at full pelt into a bank of smoke. The Times, 417 00:30:43,770 --> 00:30:47,490 Speaker 1: his war correspondent, scribbled furiously in his notebook, the French 418 00:30:47,610 --> 00:30:52,610 Speaker 1: commander General Bosquey delivered a verdict for the ages see 419 00:30:52,650 --> 00:30:59,650 Speaker 1: menifique Missapalagier. It was magnificent, but no way to wage 420 00:30:59,650 --> 00:31:04,850 Speaker 1: a war. When the smoke cleared, one in six of 421 00:31:04,930 --> 00:31:10,570 Speaker 1: the Light Brigade had been killed, more were captured or wounded. Incredibly, 422 00:31:11,050 --> 00:31:14,090 Speaker 1: more than half made it back with barely a scratch. 423 00:31:15,010 --> 00:31:19,850 Speaker 1: The charge had achieved precisely nothing. The loss of life 424 00:31:19,890 --> 00:31:23,690 Speaker 1: and limb were senseless from our modern perspective, so was 425 00:31:23,730 --> 00:31:27,210 Speaker 1: the whole crimean war. So it seems jarring that the 426 00:31:27,210 --> 00:31:31,330 Speaker 1: survivors were not just offered sympathy but hailed as heroes. 427 00:31:32,130 --> 00:31:37,210 Speaker 1: When can their glory fade? Oh? The wild charge they made. 428 00:31:37,730 --> 00:31:41,850 Speaker 1: All the world wondered to know that you've got no 429 00:31:42,010 --> 00:31:45,650 Speaker 1: choice in a doomed and dangerous mission because of some 430 00:31:45,850 --> 00:31:49,290 Speaker 1: hideous cock up, and to give it anyway, your full 431 00:31:49,370 --> 00:31:55,010 Speaker 1: blooded commitment. It no longer seems magnificent to us, but 432 00:31:55,130 --> 00:31:58,850 Speaker 1: we can at least admire the courage. And since Tennyson's 433 00:31:58,890 --> 00:32:02,210 Speaker 1: poem is easily the most famous memorial to this disaster, 434 00:32:03,010 --> 00:32:06,890 Speaker 1: maybe he should get the last word. Honor the charge 435 00:32:06,970 --> 00:32:21,330 Speaker 1: they made, Honor the Light Brigade Noble six hundred. Key 436 00:32:21,410 --> 00:32:25,290 Speaker 1: sources for this episode include hell Riders by Terry Brighton 437 00:32:25,610 --> 00:32:29,490 Speaker 1: and The Charge by Mark Adkin, along with Elizabeth Newton's 438 00:32:29,530 --> 00:32:33,850 Speaker 1: dissertation The Rocky Road From Actions to Intentions. For a 439 00:32:33,890 --> 00:32:39,010 Speaker 1: full list of references, see Tim Harford dot com. Cautionary 440 00:32:39,050 --> 00:32:42,290 Speaker 1: Tales is written by me Tim Harford with Andrew Wright. 441 00:32:42,610 --> 00:32:46,090 Speaker 1: It's produced by Ryan Dilley and Marilyn rust A. Sound 442 00:32:46,130 --> 00:32:49,490 Speaker 1: design and original music is the work of Pascal Wise. 443 00:32:50,210 --> 00:32:54,410 Speaker 1: Julia Barton edited the scripts. Starring in this series of 444 00:32:54,490 --> 00:33:00,450 Speaker 1: Cautionary Tales Helena Bonham, Carter and Jeffrey Wright alongside Nazzar Elderazzi, 445 00:33:01,090 --> 00:33:07,490 Speaker 1: Ed Gohen, Melanie Gutteridge, Rachel Hanshaw, Copenah Holbrook Smith, Greg Lockett, 446 00:33:07,890 --> 00:33:12,210 Speaker 1: Miss Siam Unrowe and Ruthless Wright. This show wouldn't have 447 00:33:12,250 --> 00:33:15,770 Speaker 1: been possible without the work of Mia La Belle, Jacob Weisberg, 448 00:33:16,050 --> 00:33:21,650 Speaker 1: Heather Fane, John Schnarz, Carlie Magniory, Eric Sandler, Emily Rostick, 449 00:33:22,170 --> 00:33:29,210 Speaker 1: Maggie Taylor, and Yellow Lakhan and Maya Canig. Cautionary Tales 450 00:33:29,770 --> 00:33:34,050 Speaker 1: is a production of Pushkin Industries. If you like the show, 451 00:33:34,490 --> 00:33:37,850 Speaker 1: please remember to rate, share, and review