ISSUE 74 Knowing about the past cannot help

**chendw04** · 05-31-2012, 09:29 PM

First time be here, appreciate any comments!

ISSUE 74
Knowing about the past cannot help people to make important decisions today.

What the knowledge of past and history could really serve us remains controversial. Although some people may completely deny the efficacy of knowing the past in order to make reasonable decision for today, I optimistically embrace the idea to know more about the past and history in relation with present day's decision-making.

First of all, considering the real process of how a accurate decision is reached, the materials and data of the past seem the only source that we can apply so as to see the holistic picture of what has already been reached. We have to collect all the past data that we can access so that a more comprehensive sight can be established and we can thus master more information about which direction we should head for. To grasp past knowledge will definitely helps us to form a sense of where we are now, and hence we will be more conscious of what is worth doing rather than rushing hither and thither and actually achieving nothing.

Secondly, when we say knowing the past can help people to make important decision today, we certainly don't mean that knowing the past is the only way that could lead us to correct and sound decision for today. For example, it is not uncommon even today that some people prefer to do divination when they face the critical moment to make decisions. They will usually get inspired by the suggestion from some supernatural entities in which they hold deep faith. However, among all the means that we could turn to for assistance to seek for a decision, I think to occupy sufficient data about the past is the most reliable, especially for political leaders who are going to launch out new policies to solve some social problems or even crisis. Without knowledge and observations about the past of their nation, their people, their policies will to no avail, if not cause new problems.

With all these been said, I admit that the method of taking the knowledge of past into account has its own limitations. For instance, sometimes, today's situation has profoundly undergone huge changes in comparison with the past. In such case, the data about the past are already archaic and will hardly be helpful if not misleading to support us to find a way out. On the one hand, we should try our best to know the past; on the other, before we decide to employ any past data into today's context, we should be aware enough of whether they are still effective.

In summary, although knowing the past doesn't always provide us advantage to approach the right decision of today, since many other factors also take effect in the process of decision-making; it is still quite necessary to collect enough materials of the past every time we are going to have an important decision made for today.