Alex’s Reviews > On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society > Status Update

I really don't know what to make of this book.

"The longbow would still have been used in the Napoleonic Wars if the raw mathematics of killing effectiveness was all that mattered, since both the longbow's firing rate and its accuracy were much greater than that of a smoothbore musket."
Not convinced of that. He does raise an interesting point, but archery is notoriously difficult if you go up against body armor.

"The fight-or-flight dichotomy is the appropriate set of choices for any creature faced with danger other than that which comes from its own species. When we examine the responses of creatures confronted with aggression from their own species, the set of options expands to include posturing and submission."

"Douglas MacArthur said it well: "However horrible the incidents of war may be, the soldier who is called upon to offer and give his life for his country, is the noblest development of mankind.""
That's not well-said at all. What about priests and doctors? Are they inherently less noble than soldiers?