Not only is standard world/local history important, I personally think that there should be an Internet and Entertainment history course if for no other reason than keeping inexperienced folks from accusing something older than their fathers of ripping off the latest flavor of the month.
Poll: History, an important subject?
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Oh come on, what was THAT for?Enzeru92 said:
Anyway, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't mean history as a whole. I mean just some parts of history, I'll learn medical history because that is a definite need but some of the rest is just...Why?
Also I didn't say I had a problem with reading anything out of a book.
i used to think history was incredibly pointless,elitepie931 said:
but in the recent months i've found myself applying many things i've learned in history to how i view modern life, such as with government and politics. its taught me much more than i ever thought beforehand
I for one understand your sentiment and tried to convey these thoughts earlier but nobody ever reads my posts.elitepie931 said:
Is learning about, say, Stalin's Great Purge, in any way necessary for you to get a medical degree? Of course not. Is it necessary for your becoming a decent doctor and treating your patients? Pretty unlikely. However, it's impossible to tell how it might be relevant to you at some point in your life and how that knowledge or lack thereof could shape you as human being, a doctor, or whatever. It may seem far-fetched, but it's not, really. And there's always the fact that not all of us end up in the job we imagine or plan for in high school.
I hate the holier than thou attitude of some history majors even though I'm inclined to defend their views to some extent. For further points, I refer to my earlier post.
Well, you do know how thick kids are these days.EcoEclipse said:
I keed, I keed!
Sounds more like a bad teacher, or perhaps one who wants to make sure you get a good score on those worthless no child left behind mandated tests.
A good understanding of history, particularly how it relates to economics, will totally transform your view of the world. The great depression and its followup, the new deal, are vital parts of this.
The problem with this sentiment, true as it is, is that the only lessons that ever really stick are the ones we teach ourselves. It isn't until we see it in action, til it becomes personal, that it becomes real to us, that we really grok it. We're doomed to repeat our history, whether we know it or not. Though if we do, I'll go a bit better the second time around.
Those who said no and stand by it are probably too simple to get anything out of it anyway.
Its one of the most important subjects. Its vital, if you don't learn from history your doomed to repeat it.
Remember in Monty Python when the guy built the castle in the swamp
The first one sank
So he built a second one
and that sank into the swamp
so he built a 3rd
and that burned, fell over and then sank into the swamp
"but the 4th one stood" you may say, but for the cost of the first 3 he could have moved the castle over a few hundred meters and built a doom fortress.
Thank you Monty Python.
Remember in Monty Python when the guy built the castle in the swamp
The first one sank
So he built a second one
and that sank into the swamp
so he built a 3rd
and that burned, fell over and then sank into the swamp
"but the 4th one stood" you may say, but for the cost of the first 3 he could have moved the castle over a few hundred meters and built a doom fortress.
Thank you Monty Python.
Being a doctor isn't just about being a medical professional.
Learning about history, debating key issues and broadening your horizons are key to making you a better, more cultured person, which in turn will make you a better doctor.
Besides that, not everyone knows what they want to do when they are in school, so giving everyone a broad range of subjects is best so they can experience a little bit of everything.
FYI, I'm a second year history student at university. This shit is important, and you'd be a fool to think it isn't.
Learning about history, debating key issues and broadening your horizons are key to making you a better, more cultured person, which in turn will make you a better doctor.
Besides that, not everyone knows what they want to do when they are in school, so giving everyone a broad range of subjects is best so they can experience a little bit of everything.
FYI, I'm a second year history student at university. This shit is important, and you'd be a fool to think it isn't.
History is where all our knowledge that isn't based on your own personal experience comes from and assuming you have not performed extensive medical experiments on unfortunate individuals your going to need it.
Plus on top of this it keeps you from looking ignorant.
Example:
Man, why was Afghanistan so ticked off at the United States? (See CIA operations against the Soviets and the aftermath in Afghanistan.)
Plus on top of this it keeps you from looking ignorant.
Example:
Man, why was Afghanistan so ticked off at the United States? (See CIA operations against the Soviets and the aftermath in Afghanistan.)
No, that's exactly what it is. Being a human being, though, isn't only about being a doctor.Fragamoo said:
Although whether it would or would not make one a better doctor depends on several factors, and is arguable at any rate, I agree with the sentiment.Fragamoo said:
Indeed. And I made all these points as well.Fragamoo said:
Most people tend to think their major is "important shit". Even the computational linguists think their shit is important.Fragamoo said:
If you want to do literally anything in life ever you need history to some extent (even if it's just "the history of how you do this" or something stupid).
But it's the same reason you are required to learn math and science and English and hopefully at least one foreign language- to give you a well-rounded basis. So that you will be a generally educated person. Sure, you may not like history, but in all honesty it's better that you know at least some than none at all. For example, knowing a basic history of America is helpful for understanding politics which is always a current issue and probably the most important practical application of history for most people.
In general, though, it's just to give you a well-rounded education so that you are a generally intelligent person if you actually try to learn. You may want to be a doctor, but that doesn't mean you don't have to know anything else at all.
But it's the same reason you are required to learn math and science and English and hopefully at least one foreign language- to give you a well-rounded basis. So that you will be a generally educated person. Sure, you may not like history, but in all honesty it's better that you know at least some than none at all. For example, knowing a basic history of America is helpful for understanding politics which is always a current issue and probably the most important practical application of history for most people.
In general, though, it's just to give you a well-rounded education so that you are a generally intelligent person if you actually try to learn. You may want to be a doctor, but that doesn't mean you don't have to know anything else at all.
Most stuff you learn in school is not directly applicable to your specific occupation. Let's face it most people don't use algebra on a daily basis, and you don't need to know that the world is round or that it orbits the sun in oder to get through your daily life. In fact if you know how to put on your pants, steal food, find shelter, and use a toilet you can probably get through your adult life without learning anything.
Yes, History is important because...
A) You need to know what has happened in the past so you can learn from it.
B) If you're in high school (which I assume you are) and as a class, it will help you learn, study, and get facts straight in other (more important by your logic) classes.
A) You need to know what has happened in the past so you can learn from it.
B) If you're in high school (which I assume you are) and as a class, it will help you learn, study, and get facts straight in other (more important by your logic) classes.
As sad as it is, you're quite right. But I like to think there's more to life than that, and science and general cultural knowledge can make your life, and that of others, quite a bit more enjoyable and meaningful. This mentality, of course, might easily escape the odd 16 year old.BringBackBuck said:
History is a very important subject for several reasons.elitepie931 said:
1.) History is able to teach us many useful things. Without history, or written record the medical techniques from years past would have been lost long ago, thus taking no steps forward.
2.) Realating to my previous point, humans as a race use history to learn, what is now considered common knowledge was once considered ground-breaking and revolutionary, and these things became so mundane due to the fact that we wrote them down and taught them to future generations. This can also be called "Passing down knowledge" or very basically "Learning from our ancestors mistakes." Should we pay no heed to history, we will become no wiser, thus making the same mistakes until we teach ourselves, a long and arduous project when compared to reading a historical manuscript that illustrates how people did these things before.
3.) History is who we are. This as been stated before but theres no way around it, history encompasses culture, and while culture has certainly evolved, it evolved off of the building blocks of previous cultures.
Without history, humans are simply a non evolutionary race, stuck in place due to our inability to learn from the past. Everything we do is rooted in history, the computer evolved from the typewriter and the typewriter was created to make printed word faster, if we didn't know that, we could never build on it. Life is a series of building blocks and how we choose to build upon the first blocks given to us by our ancestors in crucial to evolve mentally. Everything today has roots in history, and if we were unaware of that then we would be ignorant to the lessons of the past and therefore unable to make new technology
Learning the things around an event can help you to understand why it happened, and the point of history in general is to gain a better understanding of the world and the cultures in it.elitepie931 said:
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Think of it like this, if you never learn about the HISTORY of medicine, than you'd never know if those treatments worked or not, because you never learned the history behind these treatments and their effectiveness.
EDIT: holy shit the guy right before me stated my point.