Humble Opinions

Many people find little to no interest in studying history and historical events. They find it rather boring, useless, and lacking the attraction that other forms of entertainment or study have. I know this in part because I used to feel the same way. Who cares about what some uninformed guy did a thousand years ago? We have the freakin Internet!

With my recently developed love for studying history, I believe this is not only the wrong attitude to have, but also a self-depriving attitude to have. Here are some reasons why I think studying history rules:

(1). Perspective

Studying history can give a person amazing perspective that I feel is unachievable through any other means. This perspective can help give a person insight as to how they got to where they are in the first place, why things in the world look the way they do, and can also greatly affect/enhance a person’s decision making abilities.

Another thing that I have personally found in this respect, is that studying history can also give a person a better sense of how events and series of events tend to occur, and how different types of people tend to respond to them. It’s often easy to think “well there’s no way THAT would ever happen,” while a person well versed in history might be able to think “well things like that have happened at X, Y, and Z points in history, and this is how people responded then, so not only is it possible, but it has happened multiple times, in multiple situations. I better consider that occurrence possible.” (yes, people think with expansive vocabularies!)

(2). History encompasses tons of non-history

When a person studies history, they will learn the names of people, events, and places. While this might not sound very exciting, the study of history also includes the coming about and ongoing development of ideas, ideologies, attitudes, technological advances, personalities, political maneuvers, wars, aspects of civilization, and scientific & archaeological discoveries (to name a couple).

Knowing things like these makes a person more worldly, sophisticated, and wise. There’s no two ways about it - you broaden your horizons, and just become all around smarter.

(3). Priorities

I believe the study of history helps a person to better prioritize their life. With a deeper understanding and sense of history than I used to have, I find myself realizing what is truly of great import in my life, and have thus restructured my priorities. This comes as a result of learning about the failures, successes, triumphs, and tragedies of individuals and groups. It also comes as a result of learning about what not to take for granted in life.

(4). History is the information gateway drug

Like I have already said, the study of history contains tons of non-historical information. The more I study history, the more I find myself reading up about non-historical topics. It has led me to new interests, hobbies, and a greater passion for life. This has also improved my ability at being social, as I can now hold a conversation with many more types of people, and be truly engaged, with insightful things to add. People even mistake me for being smart! Yes!

(5). History is inspiring

In reading about what people have dedicated their lives to, and accomplished, history can give a person great inspiration, and want to accomplish more in their lifetime.

(6). Geography

I don’t know about you, but my geography used to be terrible. The latest time I actually recall studying geography was around 8 or 9 years old. Studying history has improved that for me drastically, and I am sure it would for anyone, regardless of their sense of geography.

So those are my reasons for studying history. And now, how to study history:

History can be somewhat daunting to study. You start learning about a subject, and references are made to other subjects and events you know nothing about. For me, the more I learn, the less I feel I know, because I’ve been introduced to so many new things I don’t know about. And thus, it is a never ending cycle of doom.

My advice is to start slow, and start with topics that interest you greatly - it should begin to expand from there. The best tip I can offer is to utilize WikiPedia.org. WikiPedia is totally sick because every article is hyperlinked to others, so a person can start reading about guitar, and end up reading about some crazy satanic cult or how lizards procreate (awesome, I know).

So to conclude, if you still think history is not worth pursuing, you must not know enough history to know what’s good for you!

Tags: history

Posted by admin under Opinions |