Saturday, October 19, 2013

What my professor told me

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/05/18/commencement-speeches-2/

I remember what my History professor told me when I wanted to get admitted into his class. This was over a decade ago...

He asked me why I wanted to do History. I replied I want to get a degree so that I can get a graduate job. And I was pretty good in History in High School.

He looked at me grimly and said then you don't want to do History- Learning History will cause you to think for yourself, learning history will cause you to question, it will cause you to argue with your boss, learning History will get you fired from your work.

But I've always been so - out there. Not cool. Always asking the wrong questions. So I went ahead with the course. Maybe I should have done something else :)

History does one thing - it gives you a sense of perspective. It also causes you to want to think deeper about things. And that can be the problem. As they say, ignorance is bliss.

No comments: