Patrick William Forbes

Patrick William Forbes was a British military man in colonial Africa in the late 19th century. Forbes's most notable quality was his indecisiveness, which led to the deaths of many British men at the hands of Ndebele warriors in something called the Shangani Patrol. The Shangani Patrol was the British version of Custer's Last Stand.

In the context of the Shangani Patrol, Wikipedia treats Forbes's indecisiveness as a tragic personality trait. Interestingly, I bet it would have been lauded as a totally awesome personality trait if Wikipedia were written by 19th-century Ndebele warriors.

Sometimes I'm pretty indecisive myself, but my indecision has never led to the deaths of many British men. It's usually more about things like what I should order at a Chinese restaurant. It affects fewer people than Forbes's indecision (me, the Chinese cook), and it usually ends up with some combination of chicken and rice.


Hamlet was indecisive. He also had staring contests with skulls.
Photo: placbo via Flickr (CC)