Bernard Woolley: What if he demands options? Sir Humphrey Appleby: Well, it's ob... | Hacker News

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icebraining on March 3, 2015 | parent | context | favorite | on: “Just remove the duck” (2013)

  Bernard Woolley:      What if he demands options?

  Sir Humphrey Appleby: Well, it's obvious, Bernard. The Foreign Office will
                        happily present him with three options, two of which
                        are, on close inspection, exactly the same.

  Sir Richard Wharton:  Plus a third which is totally unacceptable.

  Sir Humphrey Appleby: Like bombing Warsaw or invading France.

Yes, Minister - A Victory For Democracy

mikeash on March 3, 2015 | [–]

But you have to be very careful not to overestimate the person, and end up having him command you to invade France. Giving an artificial bad option can be a great move, but it's dangerous.

dasboth on March 3, 2015 | | [–]

Wish I could upvote this twice, "Yes, Minister" is full of stuff like this.

agumonkey on March 3, 2015 | [–]

Don't ask direction to the blind either.

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