Everybody's got a world view and their take on history is coloured by it

By -
Much of the history we learn from textbooks in school represents the worldview of the authors of those textbooks. And much of the way history is taught in schools represents the worldview of the teachers who deliver the lessons, and the governments that fund these schools.

Human beings are hardwired to find patterns where there is none. But history, contrary to popular belief, does not have a pattern. Those historical patterns "historians" claim to "discover" and stake their careers on are all in their heads. As we keep finding out, history always surprises us.

We may forecast out five years, ten years even. And then a single cataclysmic weather or geological disturbance -- or panicked selling frenzy in the financial markets -- makes all that "insight" on the future look idiotic.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Famous last words.

Comments

  1. Ben KritzNovember 11, 2011 at 12:11 AM

    I think Howard Zinn must have been among the grand masters of this craft.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular this week

The sound of a #Tagalog convo: 'like chickens and hens cackling in unison'

By -
Image
While I'm not sure the language should totally go the way Latin did, one can't deny the limited use of Tagalog. As it is now, a sentence can't be done without two or three borrowed words in English which makes it redundant in academia. Somehow you gotta address the technical jargon but there really is no equivalent to it in Tagalog so the English term just ends up jammed in between the local vernacular. Nevermind the fact that reading Tagalog online is cringey no matter who wrote it. Add the fact that it just doesn't sound pleasing to the ear. Normal conversation with Tagalog is like chickens and hens cackling in unison to the uninitiated. It's the peasants' language through and through. ------------ This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the discussion! http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2014/06/kudos-to-the-commission-on-higher-education-ched-for-finally-junking-tagalog/comment-page-1/#comment-544143
Read more

Poor people in the Philippines seem to prefer poverty over aspiring to be not poor

By -
Image
Sadly, a MAJORITY of the poor people here are bad people. That is WHY they are poor. They disrespect others, they disrespect themselves, and they disrespect God’s creation. Exactly how do they think they’ll be rewarded for that? If you genuinely had empathy, you would be able to get inside their heads and understand why they do these things, and perhaps know how to fix it. However, you are confusing “empathy” with “sympathy”. I have yet to meet a poor person who actually WANTS to do the things necessary to escape poverty. The funny thing is, everyone can see that I’m more successful than they are. They think this is because I’m “rich”. I’m sure a lot of them are full of jealousy (as benign0 describes) and sit around thinking “ha, it’s not fair, that foreigner is so rich and I’m so poor. I guess it’s OK if I steal his stuff”. Which they do. Regularly. I grew up poor. I know how it feels to be hungry, all the time, every day. I decided I didn’t like feeling like that. I’m successf
Read more

Filipinos "nice" but lacking in common sense -- IT business manager

By -
Image
As someone whom invested heavily in the Philippines managing an IT company, I view your assumptions as narrow minded. I’ve given hundreds of Pinoys IQ tests as part of the selection process, the vast majority of these IT graduates ( the cream of the crap ) performed dismally. After two years operating we decided to close up and retain Singaporean Chinese staff and Brazilians. One staff member does the work of approximately 10 Pinoys. The biggest issue was a sheer lack of common sense, they can do black and white but seldom grey. Higher order thinking skills and abstract reasoning skills seemed to me missing, as they would perhaps with someone diagnosed with mild Asperger syndrome. As people I found them nice, but rarely kind. Big difference there, anyone can smile. ---------------------- This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the discussion !
Read more