19 Lessons I Have Learned From Studying World History

[Rilles]

1

•You realize that ignorance is mostly cultural

...and that people have always lived in egoic bubbles constrained by time and place

 

2

•You put events into context

 

3

•You realize how privileged you are

Peacetime, healthcare, laws, education, medicine, technology

 

4

•You learn funny stories

Marat was a French revolutionary who had to spend his days in a bathtub because of a skin condition, in this bathtub he wrote polemics against the monarchy which influenced the revolution. 

 

5

•You realize development is very geographical

China is surrounded by the Gobi Desert, Himalayas and the Pacific Ocean and so was  isolated from other nations for hundreds of years, which helped its development.

 

6

•You become less racist/nationalist (because you realize everyone contributed to our modern world)

Did you know civilization was started by modern day Iranians, Indians, Egyptians and Chinese? 3000 years before Europeans came on the scene? Have you heard of The Golden Age Of Islam? Do you know who Zheng He is? Mansa Musa? Did you know Chinese invented gunpowder?

 

7

•You learn from past mistakes

 

8

•You understand how long it takes to build a country that lasts

It took Europe 1500 years of conflict to become united. (Although Europe is not a country, you get the point)

9

•You become better at envisioning the future

...because you realize we will never peak, so many things have not been invented yet

 

10

•You realize everything is impermanent

Empires rise and empires fall, glory fades.

 

11

•You become better at geography

...and perhaps you fall in love with the planet and its diversity of cultures and people

 

12

•You see the unity and division over time

http://geacron.com/home-en/

 

13

•It makes you want to explore the world

 

14

•You get shocked and inspired by the bravery of historical people

Columbus exploring the ocean, Livingstone trekking through the African jungle, Gandhi almost starving to death for his countries freedom

 

15

•You realize there is no simple solution to building societies and countries, you become a more nuanced thinker

 

16

•You realize countries are just a concept and dont really exist

 

17

•You realize morality is relative to historical era

 

18

Our education system is way too limited in its scope of history

...why arent we learning about Asia? Middle-East? Mayans? Incas? Sumerians? Ancient Persia? Islam?

19

•You become a pacifist!

5000 years of bloodshed, cant we just talk it out this time?

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by Rilles

[Carl-Richard]

Nice.

[tuckerwphotography]

Love it. Great list! Thanks for sharing

[Rilles]

5 hours ago, Carl-Richard said:

Nice.

 

4 minutes ago, tuckerwphotography said:

Love it. Great list! Thanks for sharing

Thanks, guys! Learning history has definitely changed my perspective on myself, my country and my society. Probably in more ways than I realize. Just two years ago when I started I was almost completely ignorant of world history. 

Edited March 26, 2021 by Rilles

[tuckerwphotography]

@Rilles What are some of the main resources or books you read that you'd recommend?

I'm excited for this history book to come out: https://metamoderna.org/introduction-chapter-to-the-next-hanzi-book-the-6-hidden-patterns-of-history/

[Megan Alecia]

@Rilles 13-18 are beautiful. Saving this

Edited March 26, 2021 by Megan Alecia
Very nice list overall.

[Rilles]

8 minutes ago, tuckerwphotography said:

@Rilles What are some of the main resources or books you read that you'd recommend?

I'm excited for this history book to come out: https://metamoderna.org/introduction-chapter-to-the-next-hanzi-book-the-6-hidden-patterns-of-history/

I don't really read history books yet, Im just getting started (World history is so vast) so Im just learning the basics of every event right now, later on I will choose maybe about 10 books to do a deep dive into the most interesting eras (or my favourites). So nowadays I just search the internet for all the info I can find, Youtube, Wikipedia, Geacron for maps of different eras, doesnt matter, as long as I get the gist.

Favourite History Youtubers are probably Fire Of Learning, Flashpoint, Ryan Reeves, I also like watching a guy called Terry, hes a history teacher reacting to videos, hes a chill dude.

But I've created a a little system for myself after a lot of trial and error that I think finally works decent. Basically I create a Powerpoint for myself with pictures from eras and events and make little points with information that outline the basics of the events. My ultimate goal is to have all of it in my head, haha, crazy ambition I know!

Edited March 26, 2021 by Rilles

[Rilles]

7 minutes ago, Megan Alecia said:

@Rilles 13-18 are beautiful. Saving this

So glad you like it!

[Barbara]

[John Doe]

Absolutely fantastic, this truly is the definition of a 'high-quality post'. Man this is why I love the forum, I come for copper but find gold instead.

[Rilles]

20 hours ago, Husseinisdoingfine said:

Wonderful! It looks like you really did gain a of wisdom!

 

20 hours ago, John Doe said:

Absolutely fantastic, this truly is the definition of a 'high-quality post'. Man this is why I love the forum, I come for copper but find gold instead.

Thanks guys! Glad I could inspire! 

[artcastle]

@Rilles @tuckerwphotography Thanks for the posts and recommendations.