History is something that we all hear about, and are taught about in schools. Some people even take a profession in it through study and research, but I was thinking over Christmas (which is still, I guess, ongoing), how much of history that is actually true?
We've all heard the phrase history is written by the victor, and for a good portion of history, that's true. WW1 & WW2 will always be remembered Evil Germany, but ultimately I suspect there were a lot of good Germans back in those days. We're told about all the terror and torture they undertook, but you can bet the allied forces undertook some of their own.
We're always hearing about the trouble coming out of the middle east, but now what (some) of our troops get up to over there (though a few stories have come out which don't paint them in a very good light).
You can take an ancient tablet, scroll, book or whatever and translate it, but that translation is only a translation of one persons account (or in some cases, opinion) of events. I'd say that photographic or video evidence is the only true source of proof, but firstly that wasn't available back 1000, 2000, 5000 years ago, and secondly, in our present day and age, photos and videos can be edited to add/remove content.
How much of History can (or should?) realistically be thought of as fact? A few significant events maybe? The Dinosaurs dying, the death of Caesar, the rebellion of Spartacus, the Hiroshima Bomb, the attack on Pearl Harbor, 9/11, but what transpired at all these events, as far as history is concerned shouldn't be taught (or thought) as complete truth, surely?
We've all heard the phrase history is written by the victor, and for a good portion of history, that's true. WW1 & WW2 will always be remembered Evil Germany, but ultimately I suspect there were a lot of good Germans back in those days. We're told about all the terror and torture they undertook, but you can bet the allied forces undertook some of their own.
We're always hearing about the trouble coming out of the middle east, but now what (some) of our troops get up to over there (though a few stories have come out which don't paint them in a very good light).
You can take an ancient tablet, scroll, book or whatever and translate it, but that translation is only a translation of one persons account (or in some cases, opinion) of events. I'd say that photographic or video evidence is the only true source of proof, but firstly that wasn't available back 1000, 2000, 5000 years ago, and secondly, in our present day and age, photos and videos can be edited to add/remove content.
How much of History can (or should?) realistically be thought of as fact? A few significant events maybe? The Dinosaurs dying, the death of Caesar, the rebellion of Spartacus, the Hiroshima Bomb, the attack on Pearl Harbor, 9/11, but what transpired at all these events, as far as history is concerned shouldn't be taught (or thought) as complete truth, surely?




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