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    11 Ideas That Make Historians Roll Their Eyes

    People have a lot of ideas about history. Historians usually don't agree with them!

    MontanaBlowhard
    by MontanaBlowhard

    Community Contributor

    1. I Would Love To Live In The Past

    a black and white picture of an old surgery theater
    stomp.straitstimes.com / Via stomp.straitstimes.com

    No, you wouldn't! the past didn't have Netflix. Or vaccines. Or McDonalds. You'd probably die at age 2 because of diptheria. Not great!

    2. The Past Is Boring

    Pirates fighting on the deck of the ship with lots of people who are injured around them.
    Getty Image / Via thoughtco.com

    Forbidden romance, hidden identities, shadowy political cabals, pirates! It's all there and important! If you think the past is boring, you're just not reading the right stuff.

    3. History Is Just A Bunch Of Rich Old Dudes Doing Stuff

    Renaissance painting of seven men in black shirts with white collars watching a doctor perform an anatomy on a dead man
    Nicolaes Tulp / Via en.wikipedia.org

    Please, I beg you, do not say this. Maybe that's what you learned in elementary school, but it's definitely not the case! New works about everyone but rich old dudes are being published every day. Check them out!

    4. History Is Useless

    three black and white line drawings of Chicago "Two-Flat" apartment buildings.
    Phil Thompson / Via blockclubchicago.org

    Every wondered why your home looks like it does? Or why your street is named what it is? Or even the reason you *probably* like eating pasta? There's an answer for that! And it involves history.

    5. Only Nerds Like History

    A white man with a center part, bowtie, and big glasses.
    2020mag.com / Via indianfolk.com

    This one, well I don't know what to say. That's probably true. But being a nerd is cool know so it doesn't matter!

    6. It's All Just Battles and Names of Generals

    A painting of Napoleon looking to his left and wearing finery.
    Andrea Appiani / Via politico.eu

    Maybe if you're watching too much of the History Channel. But even modern military history books cover much more than troop movements and place names. A lot of new books are about how culture affected military and vice-versa.

    7. American History Is Boring

    A white man yawning
    Getty / Via somnowell.com

    Just because the United States is a much younger country than some others, doesn't mean it's history is boring. Pre-European contact American history is fascinating, as is post-contact. Some truly wild things going on.

    8. All Those Books Are Too Long/Too Hard To Read

    A very large book, slightly open.
    ReadWorks / Via readworks.org!articleTab:content/

    Books aren't the only places you can get history from. Museums, podcasts, YouTube all have some well researched and deeply thought through history. You just need to look.

    9. History Is Dead

    A skeleton standing next to a headstone looking down on a skull.
    rileymagnus.wordpress.com / Via rileymagnus.wordpress.com

    Hello, Francis Fukuyama. Thank you for reading this list! But you're also wrong. History is a beautiful living thing. And it's very much alive.

    10. There's No History Near Me

    A giant dune in desert at twilight.
    Joshua Sortino / Via rootsrated.com

    Hard pass. Unless you are an inaminate object living in a desert that has never been touched by humans that somehow managed to gain access to a computer with an internet connection you live near some history. Important history. Dig around and you'll find some fascinating stories and connections.

    11. I'm Not Good With Dates, So History Isn't For Me

    a woman confusedly looks at more and more confusing math
    CrazyCrazy / Via knowyourmeme.com

    Anyone can look up a date! History is less about memorizing dates, than it is about interpretating facts. And anyone can do that!

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