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Posted: 12/27/2014 5:31:07 PM EDT
[#1]
What is old is new again.
So yes, it's important to study history IMO. |
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Posted: 12/27/2014 5:42:42 PM EDT
[#2]
All this has happened before
All of this will happen again |
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Posted: 12/27/2014 5:47:56 PM EDT
[#3]
Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.
Some smart guy said that (or something close). |
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Posted: 12/27/2014 5:55:23 PM EDT
[#4]
As I get older, I find myself using historic analogies at work in order to get a point across or as a spark for ideation. I also try to use it in building raport with folks based on their age and something that may be relevant to where they grew up.
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Posted: 12/27/2014 6:10:47 PM EDT
[#5]
The study of history has some value in that it gives you a deeper perspective on our society, where we came from and how we got here.
That said, I would never recommend someone get a degree in history. I have an MA in American history. Wish I had gotten a science or engineering degree instead 
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Posted: 12/27/2014 6:14:10 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
All this has happened before All of this will happen again There's definitely some truth there. Those who claim "it's different this time" usually know nothing about history. The recent scare over Ebola comes to mind, those who thought it would be TEOTWAWKI should have read more about the 1918-20 Spanish flu outbreak. That was vastly more devastating, but barely a blip on the demographic radar. |
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Posted: 12/27/2014 7:22:44 PM EDT
[#7]
I never studied history much in school, but I got into ww2 several years ago, and really learned a lot of things that are EXTREMELY relevant today. Geopolitics are formed from historical events (primarily war, or similar atrocities). Asides from that, history teaches us what is in the true hearts of men, or in other words, what we are capable of.
Failure to learn history means you are completely naive to what future events can/will take place. For example, many today think, "We are such an advanced society that our freedom is guaranteed." People who don't know history are easily manipulated by those with bad intentions, because they are not skeptical enough, and I think that might be the most important reason to study history. Few things could be more important, especially in politics. |
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Posted: 12/28/2014 11:26:19 PM EDT
[#8]
It gives you a sense of perspective on society. Going into the deeper thematic elements can let you know why things are the way they are.
For example: Why did the American Revolution not go awry as did the ones in Russia and France? Why did Chicago, or NYC, or LA turn into the big cities that they are? Why did Silicon Valley develop where it did? And it can be fun to learn new stuff. I enjoy reading the postings of others here, perhaps on topics I haven't heard of before, or haven't thought about in a while. |
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Posted: 12/29/2014 1:00:34 AM EDT
[#9]
The study and knowledge of history gives society a critical perspective that it must have to avoid repeated mistakes and to make smart decisions.
Our founding fathers had a strong sense and knowledge of history that helped them shape the Constitution and our excellent system of government. Without that, they would have been in large part blind. Those that help society in that key understanding are called historians. Teachers, police, stay at home parents and others do not get the pay they deserve, that does not make their role in the world any less important. |
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Posted: 12/29/2014 11:59:05 AM EDT
[#10]
An informed historian may use the talents to hopefully educate the ignorant and move them into the right direction.
I use it to debunk scum heroes: Nelson Mandela the Terrorist, Martin Luther King the Filanderer, Abraham Lincoln the Violator of the Constitution and Killer of Americans, Teddy Roosevelt the architect of WWII. It's also useful to answer questions about anti-firearms controls. When Roosevelt made his famous attack on San Juan, three of his five MGs were privately owned. During the War of 1812 the US government made good use of privateers. So can we own machineguns? Damned straight. OK, how about a battleship? Yep. Both have precedence. |
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Posted: 12/29/2014 4:01:45 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
An informed historian may use the talents to hopefully educate the ignorant and move them into the right direction. I use it to debunk scum heroes: Nelson Mandela the Terrorist, Martin Luther King the Filanderer, Abraham Lincoln the Violator of the Constitution and Killer of Americans, Teddy Roosevelt the architect of WWII. It's also useful to answer questions about anti-firearms controls. When Roosevelt made his famous attack on San Juan, three of his five MGs were privately owned. During the War of 1812 the US government made good use of privateers. So can we own machineguns? Damned straight. OK, how about a battleship? Yep. Both have precedence. What? |
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Posted: 12/29/2014 5:07:50 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
An informed historian may use the talents to hopefully educate the ignorant and move them into the right direction. I use it to debunk scum heroes: Nelson Mandela the Terrorist, Martin Luther King the Filanderer, Abraham Lincoln the Violator of the Constitution and Killer of Americans, Teddy Roosevelt the architect of WWII. It's also useful to answer questions about anti-firearms controls. When Roosevelt made his famous attack on San Juan, three of his five MGs were privately owned. During the War of 1812 the US government made good use of privateers. So can we own machineguns? Damned straight. OK, how about a battleship? Yep. Both have precedence. What? Unless Abom is talking about something different... It's been argued that TR's political relationship with Japan led to their imperialist expansion which caused Pearl Harbor and the war in the Pacific. Meh, it's a theory I suppose. |
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Posted: 12/29/2014 9:46:03 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
An informed historian may use the talents to hopefully educate the ignorant and move them into the right direction. I use it to debunk scum heroes: Nelson Mandela the Terrorist, Martin Luther King the Filanderer, Abraham Lincoln the Violator of the Constitution and Killer of Americans, Teddy Roosevelt the architect of WWII. It's also useful to answer questions about anti-firearms controls. When Roosevelt made his famous attack on San Juan, three of his five MGs were privately owned. During the War of 1812 the US government made good use of privateers. So can we own machineguns? Damned straight. OK, how about a battleship? Yep. Both have precedence. What? From the book, The Imperial Cruise. |
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Posted: 12/31/2014 2:00:09 PM EDT
[#14]
I suppose it depends on what kind of history we are talking about. I am skeptical that studying the affairs of nations can be all that useful in improving an individual's own life. Perhaps studying demographic trends would be more useful?
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Posted: 12/31/2014 10:45:14 PM EDT
[#15]
Well, studying other lives, as in biographies, in my view a form of history, it can help guide us in making decisions, and in how to live and how not to live. So to me, same principle applies, a different category.
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Posted: 12/31/2014 10:58:02 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I suppose it depends on what kind of history we are talking about. I am skeptical that studying the affairs of nations can be all that useful in improving an individual's own life. Perhaps studying demographic trends would be more useful? I've been reading a lot of economic history. Sh*t is about to repeat itself. Back in 1929 people bought on the margins and when the margins were called in because the Fed Res tightened the money supply, a lot of people went broke. The crash followed. Modernly, it was the housing bubble and consumer credit. Same game, different approach. |
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Posted: 1/1/2015 12:12:50 AM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I've been reading a lot of economic history. Sh*t is about to repeat itself. Back in 1929 people bought on the margins and when the margins were called in because the Fed Res tightened the money supply, a lot of people went broke. The crash followed. Modernly, it was the housing bubble and consumer credit. Same game, different approach. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
I suppose it depends on what kind of history we are talking about. I am skeptical that studying the affairs of nations can be all that useful in improving an individual's own life. Perhaps studying demographic trends would be more useful? I've been reading a lot of economic history. Sh*t is about to repeat itself. Back in 1929 people bought on the margins and when the margins were called in because the Fed Res tightened the money supply, a lot of people went broke. The crash followed. Modernly, it was the housing bubble and consumer credit. Same game, different approach. I think you're right about it repeating itself and it will be interesting to see just how different it is. We have lots of infrastructure (although it's dated), much better technology (thanks to our electronics industry mostly), more people with firearms (more by percentage relative to 1929?), but also a whole bunch of FSA and way more government debt. |
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Posted: 1/2/2015 10:43:15 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
An informed historian may use the talents to hopefully educate the ignorant and move them into the right direction. I use it to debunk scum heroes: Nelson Mandela the Terrorist, Martin Luther King the Filanderer, Abraham Lincoln the Violator of the Constitution and Killer of Americans, Teddy Roosevelt the architect of WWII. It's also useful to answer questions about anti-firearms controls. When Roosevelt made his famous attack on San Juan, three of his five MGs were privately owned. During the War of 1812 the US government made good use of privateers. So can we own machineguns? Damned straight. OK, how about a battleship? Yep. Both have precedence. What? Another example of the usefulness of having a good grasp of history: Being able to immediately separate the wheat from the chaff. The post you're quoting is mostly chaff. |
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Posted: 1/2/2015 10:59:42 PM EDT
[#19]
Indeed
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Posted: 1/6/2015 8:16:02 PM EDT
[#20]
I have a a BA in History as well. I feel like history is important to study, but it probably shouldn't be majored in, for financial reasons, unless perhaps one is going to law school. I'd like to see more history required in high school and particularly in college (and not the left wing revisionism that often seems to predominate, where the tendency is to look down on the past instead of understanding and accepting it). In the past, Americans seem to have gotten a lot more exposure to history from books and tv/movies.
History allows you to understand politics, the world, news, other cultures, older generations, etc. It boosts your intelligence. Conversely, lack of historical knowledge makes you ignorant of these domains. History also allows you to predict the future with greater accuracy, since the past repeats itself. At every level of society (neighborhood, city, state, country, world), any problem can be isolated by looking back into the past and finding a time and place when the problem didn't exist. The conditions and lessons of the past can be applied to the present. Even at the individual level, generally everything happening to us has happened to millions of other people already, and the possible choices and outcomes are predetermined. |
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Posted: 5/24/2015 4:45:20 PM EDT
[#21]
If some guys studied history more maybe they would have fewer ex-wives.
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Posted: 5/25/2015 10:46:20 AM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What is old is new again. So yes, it's important to study history IMO. This is correct. Perhaps the OP is jaded because he chose a poor college major, with minimal prospects for a good paying job in his field of study? |
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Posted: 5/26/2015 4:16:12 AM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted: This is correct. Perhaps the OP is jaded because he chose a poor college major, with minimal prospects for a good paying job in his field of study? Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: What is old is new again. So yes, it's important to study history IMO. This is correct. Perhaps the OP is jaded because he chose a poor college major, with minimal prospects for a good paying job in his field of study? |
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Posted: 5/26/2015 11:13:14 AM EDT
[#24]
Patterns do repeat themselves.
Right now the good stuff to read is economic history. We are on the precipice of financial collapse and 95% of the population in America are in total ignorance of it. They are so distracted or dumbed down or misled by the media. All right, I am also reading a book by a Soviet soldier who fought in foreign tanks during WW II. He had a Matilda shot out from underneath him and several Shermans. Not like I'm going to hop into a tank ad fight off hordes of invaders. |
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Posted: 5/28/2015 8:29:55 PM EDT
[#25]
Those who don't study history are doomed repeat it. Those who study history are doomed to watch helplessly as everyone else repeats it.
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Posted: 5/29/2015 9:10:45 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get a decent job. A BA in History is really quite useless. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
What is old is new again. So yes, it's important to study history IMO. This is correct. Perhaps the OP is jaded because he chose a poor college major, with minimal prospects for a good paying job in his field of study? There is a big difference between studying a subject because it has value, and trying to make a living off that same subject. I would contend that some elements of the degree program should make you valuable to employers---- knowing how to do research and get needed gems of information out of the flood of data you encounter; being able to analyze whether information you find is true or false; knowing the difference between primary sources and interpretations of those sources; how to write clearly and articulate a point, etc etc. That being said, you are right in that there is not much of a market for the professional historian. People (in general) are not interested in "boring history". Look at this forum, for example. One GD thread on some actress showing skin, or the battle of the sexes, or any similar topic will have more views and responses than every thread on the first page of this forum combined. |
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Posted: 5/30/2015 11:11:24 AM EDT
[#27]
In all these past thousands of years, human nature has barely changed. Technology advances rapidly, the specific situations and places differ, but most folks are pretty easy to predict after one studies past behavior.
Very little is new under the sun. |
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Posted: 6/10/2015 3:32:58 PM EDT
[#28]
You will find that most great military leaders throughout history were history buffs. Hell, alot of great leaders were history buffs.
Many learned from history to help make themselves successful. |
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Posted: 6/11/2015 7:24:23 PM EDT
[#29]
IMO it's very important.
It always repeats it's self and you can learn from the past. |
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Posted: 6/13/2015 3:56:04 AM EDT
[#30]
“The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.”
~ Sir Winston Churchill “History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” ~ Mark Twain And dozens more quotes. Did you read Bracken's letter on here, "Stonewalled in Obama's Garden of Beasts"? The parallels between 1938 Germany and today's USA are frighteningly close. |
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Posted: 6/13/2015 4:03:12 AM EDT
[#31]
An understanding of history improves your perspective and helps you understand things going on today in a larger context.
This is a context that is largely lost in a culture where people are comfortable with a paper thin understanding based on internet memes, or - worse - polemic books or articles that make a mockery of the discipline. |
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Posted: 6/13/2015 4:52:13 AM EDT
[#32]
No, do not study history. Let others tell you how it is, how it was and shape your reality and perspective of human civilization.
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Posted: 8/1/2015 1:12:53 AM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
No, do not study history. Let others tell you how it is, how it was and shape your reality and perspective of human civilization. To some extent, this has always happened..... |
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Posted: 8/1/2015 11:23:06 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
“The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” ~ Sir Winston Churchill “History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” ~ Mark Twain And dozens more quotes. Did you read Bracken's letter on here, "Stonewalled in Obama's Garden of Beasts"? The parallels between 1938 Germany and today's USA are frighteningly close. I read William Shrier's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. There are many parallels. 
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Posted: 8/1/2015 11:53:00 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I read William Shrier's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. There are many parallels. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
“The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” ~ Sir Winston Churchill “History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” ~ Mark Twain And dozens more quotes. Did you read Bracken's letter on here, "Stonewalled in Obama's Garden of Beasts"? The parallels between 1938 Germany and today's USA are frighteningly close. I read William Shrier's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. There are many parallels. No there aren't. You need to read more history. There's the dispassionate analysis of the historical record and there's cherry picking isolated data points to bolster an ideology. One is history, the other is politics. You obviously don't know the difference. |
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Posted: 8/2/2015 1:26:15 AM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
No there aren't. You need to read more history. There's the dispassionate analysis of the historical record and there's cherry picking isolated data points to bolster an ideology. One is history, the other is politics. You obviously don't know the difference. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
“The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” ~ Sir Winston Churchill “History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” ~ Mark Twain And dozens more quotes. Did you read Bracken's letter on here, "Stonewalled in Obama's Garden of Beasts"? The parallels between 1938 Germany and today's USA are frighteningly close. I read William Shrier's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. There are many parallels. No there aren't. You need to read more history. There's the dispassionate analysis of the historical record and there's cherry picking isolated data points to bolster an ideology. One is history, the other is politics. You obviously don't know the difference. Do you even GD, bro? |
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Posted: 8/2/2015 11:22:59 AM EDT
[#37]
Interesting passage from the conclusion of Rear Admiral Paul Auphan and Jacques Mordal's The French Navy in World War II:
But sober consideration impels one to believe that the Soviet strategy does not lead necessarily toward a Third World War. On the contrary, considering what has happened in the past few years, it would seem to be to the interest of the Communists to permit the present situation to deteriorate naturally, and to wait for the socialist germs to take effect in those countries where they have been planted. In the meantime they hasten the process by nurturing internal subversive movements or by bringing a discreet support to those disturbance which the general staffs are beginning to qualify as "revolutionary." How prophetic as much of modern France is socialist. We've no shortage of socialists here in Estados Unidos either. The book was copyright in 1959 by the United States Naval Institute. |
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Posted: 8/2/2015 12:15:50 PM EDT
[#38]
When my daughter brought home her history book and started talking about how MLK freed the slaves, I had to correct her and I mentioned the particulars of the Civil War and legislation enacted thereafter. If I did not know history, I would have told her "that is nice." I also enlightened her on the facts about MLK and his ties to Communism and his insatiable appetite for white prostitutes.
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Posted: 8/2/2015 9:30:50 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
No there aren't. You need to read more history. There's the dispassionate analysis of the historical record and there's cherry picking isolated data points to bolster an ideology. One is history, the other is politics. You obviously don't know the difference. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
“The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” ~ Sir Winston Churchill “History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” ~ Mark Twain And dozens more quotes. Did you read Bracken's letter on here, "Stonewalled in Obama's Garden of Beasts"? The parallels between 1938 Germany and today's USA are frighteningly close. I read William Shrier's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. There are many parallels. No there aren't. You need to read more history. There's the dispassionate analysis of the historical record and there's cherry picking isolated data points to bolster an ideology. One is history, the other is politics. You obviously don't know the difference. My Dear Keyboard Commando, You have certainly mastered endearing yourself to strangers. I hope you are as tough in real life as you are on the net; otherwise face meets fist. The unspoken weakness of academia is its constraints that encumber the individual's thinking. Once shackled, it becomes virtually impossible (or unfashionable) to break those fetters. That is, unless one is willing to face ridicule from or be discredited by their peers. I wish you much success luck with your degree in history. You'll need it in these difficult times. 4v50 |
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Posted: 8/5/2015 6:05:51 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Interesting passage from the conclusion of Rear Admiral Paul Auphan and Jacques Mordal's The French Navy in World War II: How prophetic as much of modern France is socialist. We've no shortage of socialists here in Estados Unidos either. The book was copyright in 1959 by the United States Naval Institute. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Interesting passage from the conclusion of Rear Admiral Paul Auphan and Jacques Mordal's The French Navy in World War II: But sober consideration impels one to believe that the Soviet strategy does not lead necessarily toward a Third World War. On the contrary, considering what has happened in the past few years, it would seem to be to the interest of the Communists to permit the present situation to deteriorate naturally, and to wait for the socialist germs to take effect in those countries where they have been planted. In the meantime they hasten the process by nurturing internal subversive movements or by bringing a discreet support to those disturbance which the general staffs are beginning to qualify as "revolutionary." How prophetic as much of modern France is socialist. We've no shortage of socialists here in Estados Unidos either. The book was copyright in 1959 by the United States Naval Institute. France was thoroughly socialist well before WW2. Scandinavia hit that mark before the turn of the 20th Century. It is nothing new. That quote is well and good and not terribly inaccurate, but the statist's goals are as liable to be corrupted or deflected as any other. Many folks- especially around here and amongst conservatives- see a slide toward the left side of the spectrum as inexorable and foreordained. While they may have the weight of numbers currently, there is nothing that states that outcome unequivocally must occur. History tells us that a fight is lost only when people stop fighting. |
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Posted: 8/6/2015 8:01:27 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Those who don't study history are doomed repeat it. Those who study history are doomed to watch helplessly as everyone else repeats it. Well said! ....... |
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Posted: 8/7/2015 7:47:25 AM EDT
[#42]
History is really he study of human nature. Once you understand that, you can use the lessons learned to plan for the future.
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Posted: 8/7/2015 8:18:46 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
History is really he study of human nature. Once you understand that, you can use the lessons learned to plan for the future. Absolutely. Humans individually can be unpredictable, for better or worse. Humans in large groups are boringly unsurprising. Same shit, different time. For excellent insight into much of human nature, read Eric Hoffer's The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. |
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Posted: 8/14/2015 4:25:48 PM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get a decent job. A BA in History is really quite useless. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
What is old is new again. So yes, it's important to study history IMO. This is correct. Perhaps the OP is jaded because he chose a poor college major, with minimal prospects for a good paying job in his field of study? I have one too, and make $12/hr.
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Posted: 12/13/2015 1:41:49 PM EDT
[#45]
Cowboy logic says, "Shit happens over and over and over again. Sometimes the smell is slightly different but its still the same shit".
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Posted: 12/28/2015 10:55:10 PM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Well said! ....... Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Those who don't study history are doomed repeat it. Those who study history are doomed to watch helplessly as everyone else repeats it. Well said! ....... Agreed. |
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Posted: 12/29/2015 1:06:46 PM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Agreed. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Those who don't study history are doomed repeat it. Those who study history are doomed to watch helplessly as everyone else repeats it. Well said! ....... Agreed. And it's happening before our eyes as the empire dies. |
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