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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1323 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 4, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

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We had 1500 years of diving right monarchies in Europe, and longer elsewhere. To bolster your point: if there was a consistent way to get good heirs, we would’ve found it by now. You always have a high risk of reversion to the mean.

I think the theory that Marcus’ wife cheated on him and sired Commodus from the affair is possible, but unadjucatable at this point. Either way, you still have other good emperors with awful sons like Septimius Severus and Caracalla/Geta and arguably Vespasian/Dominitian. I don’t blame Marcus too much for Commodus.

diving right monarchies in Europe

Cthulu always swims left, monarchies dive right to avoid him.

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