Category Archives: historians

Pinker and Rosling argue we should be more optimistic as the world has been improving. While true, doesn’t this risk complacency, as past performance is no guarantee for the future, especially facing global warming and changing world power dynamics?

https://www.quora.com/Pinker-and-Rosling-argue-we-should-be-more-optimistic-as-the-world-has-been-improving-While-true-doesnt-this-risk-complacency-as-past-performance-is-no-guarantee-for-the-future-especially-facing-global-warming-and/

https://www.quora.com/Pinker-and-Rosling-argue-we-should-be-more-optimistic-as-the-world-has-been-improving-While-true-doesnt-this-risk-complacency-as-past-performance-is-no-guarantee-for-the-future-especially-facing-global-warming-and/answer/TL-Winslow

The concept of learning history is as old as the earliest civilizations. Does learning history really prevent making the same mistakes?

https://www.quora.com/The-concept-of-learning-history-is-as-old-as-the-earliest-civilizations-Does-learning-history-really-prevent-making-the-same-mistakes/answer/TL-Winslow

https://www.quora.com/The-concept-of-learning-history-is-as-old-as-the-earliest-civilizations-Does-learning-history-really-prevent-making-the-same-mistakes/answer/TL-Winslow

What fascinates you about the study of history? Why is that?

https://www.quora.com/What-fascinates-you-about-the-study-of-history-Why-is-that/

https://www.quora.com/What-fascinates-you-about-the-study-of-history-Why-is-that/answer/TL-Winslow

My answer:

The real question is how can you live and die and not learn all the history you can? A dumb animal dies without knowing history, but you’re a sapient human with the power of speech and reading, so why not make use of your powers and at least try to learn where everybody and everything you know came from, and perhaps get a clue to where it’s all going?
Until the Internet came along, and you had to rely on paper-based history materials, the learning process was slow and laborious, as well as costly. To really delve deeply required long-term access to a history library. Too bad, books are dangerous, subject to mold and other nasty problems, let’s not forget paper cuts. Now using the Internet and a browser, anybody is free to imbibe all the history they can absorb, and electronic search gives you an advantage unavailable with paper materials. So what’s keeping you? Games and other non-serious activities? When you finally reach old age, what do you want stored in your brain? Game scores, or a knowledge of history?

Rabbit Hole for The Historyscoper ™ Online World History School. Teaching world history for keeps. ™ (http://www.historyscoper.com)