What’s your favourite example from history where a leader faced a monumental task (say a war, crisis, recession, pandemic) but instead of solely focusing on the task at hand decision-making was heavily influenced by banal everyday politics (like an election)?

Almost all real numbers are transcendental, yet it wasn’t until the middle of the 19th century that their existence was proven. Liouville’s constant was the first example.

Canadian Pavilion at Expo 67, the Geological Survey of Canada, prepared a map of Canada