how to develop curiosity in history

[Viking]

since i was a child i wasnt interested in history and subjects surrounding it like politics, literature, etc. during highschool i picked a tiny interest in literature but that was only in literature which was related to spiritual or philosophical things. those interests faded.

i also visited historical sites and every time i do im insanely bored and cant comprehend and even get jealous how people find interest in it. why would i care that some dude lived in some place or some society was doing some tools or something of the sort.. i feel like im missing out and that people understand things i dont. when i ask people why it interest them i usually dont get an answer deeper than "because it's interesting".

[Rilles]

24 minutes ago, Viking said:

since i was a child i wasnt interested in history and subjects surrounding it like politics, literature, etc. during highschool i picked a tiny interest in literature but that was only in literature which was related to spiritual or philosophical things. those interests faded.

i also visited historical sites and every time i do im insanely bored and cant comprehend and even get jealous how people find interest in it. why would i care that some dude lived in some place or some society was doing some tools or something of the sort.. i feel like im missing out and that people understand things i dont. when i ask people why it interest them i usually dont get an answer deeper than "because it's interesting".

I like to research history once in a while, mostly to get a big picture idea of human/societal development over time. I dont love it though, its probably around the 10th spot in my hierarchy of subjects I find interesting. 

[mmKay]

Why do you want to know about history, like actually? 

Do you feel not intelligent not knowing what happened where and when? 

Do you desire to flex your knowledge and memorization of facts on others for aprooval and feeling of superiority? 

Take a moment to clarify the  reason why you think knowing some history is suposed to be valuable for you. 

 

How to develop curiosity in History? 

Handle your needs and wants first.

You could use Maslows herarchy of needs to get an idea, but what you actually need to do is to sit down and pin down the actual burning desires you may have :

More sex;  constructing a life that feels meaningful for you;  having a vision for your life so that you feel some kind of peace and groundedness in that regard, etc. 

Those are some examples.

Ask yourself what do you want really often, and work on fulfilling that, because those are your ACTUAL REAL INTERESTS. 

You can watch some history movies and some youtube curiosity history compilations to spark your interest, but in my opinion you cant fake real interest. 

Once you got a lot of shit handled in your life, your field of interests will expand organically.

" Dont sit down to write poetry when a tiger is chasing you " 

BTW, this is also one of the things you gotta do to find personal development books interesting : choosing books related with your needs and wants. 

[ArchangelG]

The interesting thing about history isn't merely facts, but how those facts connects to today.

A great place to start would be picking something that you're already interested in, and then add history. For example:

* Film history

* Music history(modern, ancient)

* American history

* History of spirituality

* History of technology

* History of internet

* history of humanity

* History of food

* History of war

* African History

* history of clothes and fashion

* history of video games

and the list goes on and on...

 

[DocWatts]

Is there any particular period or person or historical event that you're interested in? That would be a great jumping off point.

[ArchangelG]

2 minutes ago, Mikael89 said:

There's zero need to know about boring unimportant history. You only need to know about history which matters something, like the things I mentioned above.

It's neither boring nor unimportant.

It improves you're understanding of society and contemporary times substantially. If someone want's to understand which direction society is going than history is crucial.

[Rilles]

8 minutes ago, Mikael89 said:

There's zero need to know about boring unimportant history. You only need to know about history which matters something, like the things I mentioned above.

How do you know what matters? 

[DocWatts]

14 minutes ago, Mikael89 said:

There's zero need to know about boring unimportant history. You only need to know about history which matters something, like the things I mentioned above.

Don't become a part of the 'Proudly Ignorant' mentality that"s become popular these days.

[Rilles]

Just now, Mikael89 said:

@ArchangelG @Rilles @DocWatts Not everyone are interested in history. Is it hard to face that fact or what is the problem?

Like I said, Im only a little bit interested, I just wondered what history is important and matters to you? I never said anything else.

[DocWatts]

28 minutes ago, Mikael89 said:

@ArchangelG @Rilles @DocWatts Not everyone are interested in history. Is it hard to face that fact or what is the problem? You really think you are smart because you know some bullshit history? Lmao.

That's fine if you're not interested in the subject, but having knowledge of fields of study with broad and useful applications in the real world is probably one criteria for being smart, is it not?

I'm not interested in something like music theory, but I wouldn't ridicule someone who's much more knowledgeable about the subject than I am. I also wouldn't assume that jist because i'm not interested in it, that it isn't valuable.

[ArchangelG]

2 hours ago, Mikael89 said:

@ArchangelG @Rilles @DocWatts Not everyone are interested in history. Is it hard to face that fact or what is the problem? You really think you are smart because you know some bullshit history? Lmao.

I questioned you're statement that history is unimportant, which I dont agree with. In my mind history is more important than ever.But if you dont want to read history, dont do it.

 

 

[No Self]

You might like to learn about the Vikings.

[aurum]

@Viking

History to me becomes more interesting when I can see how it will affect my life.

For instance, I'm deeply interested in the history of the United States because it can give us clues to what is happening in our country today.

So find the practical benefit. Knowing your history does pay off.

Edited November 15, 2020 by aurum

[No Self]

9 hours ago, mmKay said:

Do you desire to flex your knowledge and memorization of facts on others for aprooval and feeling of superiority? 

Please be careful with this logic. Anti-intellectualism is not going to help us out of a situation where mobs of angry stupid people run the country.

9 hours ago, mmKay said:

More sex;

Please be careful with this logic. Anti-intellectualism is not going to help us out of a situation where mobs of angry stupid people run the country.

[Origins]

For me it's really just about the imagination. You'll be amazed where you can take your mind if you exclusively focus on this pandora in the context of history. That's all I really need to say on this because its such a simple and powerful truth, you'll notice the positive ripple effect is really just proportional to your level of focus here / lack of distraction. [ and ongoing research into history in combination kind of goes without saying of course]

[mmKay]

@No Self I'm not implying there is anything wrong with being intelectual or knowing some history.

I'm pointing at what many times may be what is fueling one's actions :

Search of aprooval of others ( "wow you are smart for knowing this and that " ) ,

Feeling like you are developing yourself without actually doing it ( memorization of stories and dates is just adding more files to your brain, to say so) 

Desire to flex on others. Actually looking to get in a conversation to show off your knowledge. 

 

All I'm saying is that these are possible reasons why he may feel guilty not knowing history. I dont know him and im proyecting  a lot, but it's difficult to be authentically interested in the topic of history if your house is on fire ( analogy for him not having his life together and on purpose) 

By all means, go read as much as you desire and research all you want. It would be ridicoulous to say " Stop reading! Stop thinking! "

[No Self]

23 minutes ago, mmKay said:

@No Self I'm not implying there is anything wrong with being intelectual or knowing some history.

I can appreciate that. In fact, Eckhart Tolle has made a similar point before, arguing that some people turn towards intellectualism as a means of boosting their ego (calling average people stupid), the same reasons people might focus excessively on their appearance or careers, etc.

But there's a lot wrong with schooling, the media and society in this respect.

School reduces learning to a dreaded chore, a stressful fear of failure, and a triumphant sense of arrogance that passing a high school test means knowing it all. Real knowledge, driven by a genuine thirst for understanding, is quite different; as soon as we evaluate our assumptions, they tend to dissipate. It ends up making us humble due to Dunning-Kruger. THIS has spiritual value as we become more open-minded and see the limitations of the mind itself.

Then the media comes along and overlooks the Marie Curies of the world, instead venerating the Miley Cyruses, sexualising children and giving them extremely poor quality role models. Intellectualism is seen as a boring consolation prize for autistic people with no sex appeal. In a way, being smart is seen as stupid since the narcissistic rewards of pleasure and prestige are not there. Hopefully the link between this anti-intellectualism and the unconscious tribalism of, say, the world of politics is obvious. Anyone can read and become smart the same way that anyone can exercise and look good, so it becomes a question of the priorities of society itself.

Of course, a truly authentic spiritual search is head and shoulders above any mental or physical development. This directly raises consciousness on the planet, brings authentic love into the world and unveils our true nature to ourselves. And yet, even then, one might naturally be drawn to marvel at the magnificence of the scientific knowledge or the historical journey that humanity has undertaken over the eons.

Cheers.