should all history books be destroyed and forgotten?

[kloth]

if that's you're only defense then you must not really know.

 

[kloth]

Even if things cannot be proven...there are still things we can learn from history books.

it's not a matter of just prooving it, it's a matter of how many people believe in something full heartily that might be a complete rewrote lie.
why do we need to know about a history that we have no proof of? it's not like we know everything about all history before the video age, even before people knew how to write, make books and document things in prehistoric times.
why not go by something with more concrete proof?
for instance: you can read up on something like world war 2, and you can watch actual video fooatge during that war to help back it up.
many people may feel like something is lost with my idea, and afraid to believe that perhaps most if not all history is fabricated before the video era.
some peoples minds are just easy i believe, and don't wanna get off the drone track because they have been conditioned on what to believe their entire life.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

it's not a matter of just prooving it, it's a matter of how many people believe in something full heartily that might be a complete rewrote lie.

Just don't burn your dictionary or grammar books.

 

[kloth]

Disagree. We can look back at how people thought back then and compare it to now. It gives us insight on how world issues, technology, environment etc. affect the Human Ego. How Man describes himself is what is valuable about it, not necessarily the stories being told, as their accuracy is definitely up for question.

but how do you know that's how they thought at all back then? because someone else said this is how people thought then in a book?
with video we can watch interviews from people back when video started with making movies, theaters, television, computer's, etc.
we can believe what other people say about mozart, but we can believe more so about music acts like the beatles with actual interviews on video of them where we can see and hear them.
keep in mind i am talking about history books only, and not philosophy books which is a matter of opinion that we all know, and books like that.
but when history books say this is how the world was and how people thought for sure, how many people are just going to believe that without thought if their schools/teachers have been telling them this their entire life? and everybody else follows in line without question or thought like most mass situations.
people today take pride and take hate from a past they don't know if is a complete lie, and it still effects society today and the world.

 

[kloth]

Just don't burn your dictionary or grammar books.

those are not history books. if people want to keep them books around to keep their minds programmed accordingly, then so be it.:bonk:

 

[Sunstone]

What are four history books you've actually read, Kloth?

 

[lewisnotmiller]

if that's you're only defense then you must not really know.

Defence? I wasn't mounting any defence. I was passing comment visually on your supposition that YouTube does a better job than history books.

What is it you wish me to defend?

You choose, and I'll respond without similes.

 

[FranklinMichaelV.3]

I think history should be taken as facts based on the evidence that we have...and understand that those evidences may change. If we approach it like so, there is no reason to get rid of the books is there?

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I think history should be taken as facts based on the evidence that we have...and understand that those evidences may change. If we approach it like so, there is no reason to get rid of the books is there?

To be fair to the OP, it's more complicated than that, although I agree with your general intent.
Most history is interpretive rather than factual. More recent histories are more certain,in terms of factual basis but the who and when of something is rarely the most informative part of it in any case.

Burning all history books because of this is not only throwing out the baby with the bathwater, it's loading up the tub with every baby in existence first.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Burning books is never a solution - only a problem.

 

[DallasApple]

This is a silly thread. There are videos of vegetables dancing on YouTube that are far more intelligent and interesting than this.

That being said, because the OP is so obviously compelling, I think that we who agree should break our fingers and never, ever get online ever again.

And giving up coffee would be constructive.

True dat!

 

[esmith]

As George Santayana said:
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

• This famous statement has produced many paraphrases and variants:
  • Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
  • Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes.
  • Those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it.
  • Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors are destined to repeat them.
  • Those who do not know history's mistakes are doomed to repeat them.

From http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Santayana

 

[lewisnotmiller]

As George Santayana said:
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

• This famous statement has produced many paraphrases and variants:
  • Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
  • Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes.
  • Those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it.
  • Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors are destined to repeat them.
  • Those who do not know history's mistakes are doomed to repeat them.

From http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Santayana

You forgot one;

Those who rely on YouTube for their history are doomed to end up on Tosh.0

 

[DallasApple]

NO! there are too many nursery rhymes in them.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Trying to be serious, I'd consider it of FAR more benefit to increase historical understanding than devalue or ignore it.
Anything to get people some frigging perspective.

 

[kloth]

You forgot one;

Those who rely on YouTube for their history are doomed to end up on Tosh.0

how is youtube bad for teaching about history? besides that many people may not like youtube because of the value that's percieved about it like myspace, facebook and forums boards has.
does it not provide a better source of history with actually seeing what happened, rather than just reading? like with world war 2, the 9/11 attacks, famous crimes, etc.

Burning books is never a solution - only a problem.

i never said to burn books.
but if people don't explain why something is a problem, then it just seems like they are just saying something that sounds good on paper only.

I think history should be taken as facts based on the evidence that we have...and understand that those evidences may change. If we approach it like so, there is no reason to get rid of the books is there?

what evidence? what evidence do you have that the civil war went down how people are taught? hearsay?
at least with lets say the Vietnam war, we have video footage, interviews, etc.

What are four history books you've actually read, Kloth?

u.s. history, European history, Mexican history and other history books from jr. and high school. world history, etc.

 

[esmith]

u.s. history, European history, Mexican history and other history books from jr. and high school. world history, etc.

Unfortunately some of those history books were written by the winner or by someone with a clouded personal view. Take US History for example. Do you really think that the westward expansion, as presented, was totally fair and balanced. Or do you think that they were written to reflect the views of the "winners"? Examine World History say covering say 1938 to 1955 (period of WWII and the Korean Conflict) do you really believe that what is written is what really happened? If you do, I suggest you pick up books written by those that were there and not by those who thought, whether by misguided accounts or embellishments took place. Even in today's modern world what gets put in a "history" books, as used in a school curriculum, are biased to some degree by the writer or writers and reflect, to some extent, the social, political, economic, or a combination of the writers genre in those areas. I am not saying that you shouldn't read or believe history books, but you should not take them as the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Locate other books on the subject matter and make you judgement based on all of the input you receive.

 

[McBell]

u.s. history, European history, Mexican history and other history books from jr. and high school. world history, etc.

I suspect he is wanting to know which specific books you have read.

School text books do not count.

 

[McBell]

Unfortunately some of those history books were written by the winner or by someone with a clouded personal view. Take US History for example. Do you really think that the westward expansion, as presented, was totally fair and balanced. Or do you think that they were written to reflect the views of the "winners"? Examine World History say covering say 1938 to 1955 (period of WWII and the Korean Conflict) do you really believe that what is written is what really happened? If you do, I suggest you pick up books written by those that were there and not by those who thought, whether by misguided accounts or embellishments took place. Even in today's modern world what gets put in a "history" books, as used in a school curriculum, are biased to some degree by the writer or writers and reflect, to some extent, the social, political, economic, or a combination of the writers genre in those areas. I am not saying that you shouldn't read or believe history books, but you should not take them as the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Locate other books on the subject matter and make you judgement based on all of the input you receive.

I wonder how different US History would be from a Native American PoV?

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I wonder how different US History would be from a Native American PoV?

l have a decent little library on this topic. The trick is to read widely. Suffice to say it's not a pretty picture in many cases.