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I still read articles such as this for perspective.

http://www.news.utoronto.ca/lead-stories/university-of-toronto-archaeologists-find-cache-of-cuneiform-tablets-in-270-1.html (dead link in 2013)

When we get so wound up in day to day life, it’s good to sit back and think other people had bigger problems (and still do).

Many people don’t understand the purpose of studying history. They think: it’s over, done, let’s move on, we have things to do now.

This is shortsighted & misguided thinking.

I think what history does is set the stage for understanding human culture, including contemporary culture. Understanding past cultural conflicts gives us a better understanding of current conflicts. No one can possibly hope to understand the current issues in Middle East without knowing it’s history (which is very long, and very complex). And knowing how people everywhere have responded under various stresses and opportunties can’t help but inform & ground your thoughts.

We live in the shadows of past events.

To look ahead sometimes we need to look back to see where we’ve come from.

There is no crystal ball to predict the future, but if you find yourself half way up a mountain, I believe looking back may help you ask the answer the question: “WTF am I doing here now?” And then you can address what do you want to do in the future based on this knowledge. We sometimes call this strategic consulting.

This is why the transition from the study of ancient & medieval history to the practice of market research has never seemed a stretch to me.

In the end we tell stories and the stories involve people.

Simple.

What’s your story? Why are you where you are right now?

“Because” is not a good answer.

Cheers

I spend time thinking about time. This is not a terribly productive task but it is inevitable when you feel you have more things to do in a day then there are hours. Everyone goes down that route. For business, for education, while raising young kids, whatever.

Try as I may to stretch it, there are only 24 hours in a day and the ability to multi-task caps out quickly. Sure I can eat my lunch, check emails and talk on the phone all at once (between bites & swallows) but there are many tasks that require dedicated time.

I can't read two serious pieces of literature at once, nor engage in two real in-person conversations simultaneously (I think the bibilcial people call this talking in tongues - you sound like an idiot).

The world encourages full-time plug-in. Connectivity is wireless and portable. The devourers of time sit in your pocket, or your purse and slowly eat away your existence. But not unassisted.

We must be honest, we allow this to happen, no one is forcing us online 24/7.

Admittedly, we live in a period of rapid social change and the historian in me makes me think back to an earlier such period, the 1960's, where the social "prophets" who may not have had the right answers at least caused people to ask the right questions.

Timothy Leary said "Turn on, tune in, drop out".

Maybe fine for that era (a bit before my time) but the last thing I need now is more mind altering substances, more stimuli, we have media for that. Perhaps we need to adapt and update this idea for the 21st century.

I think maybe we need to "Turn off, tune in, drop by".

So let's power down the electronics, and go talk with a friend, or read a book.

The web is great (I live there), but when time flees, we need to think about allocating it wisely.

Kick off the shoes. Breath deeply. Shutdown. Your batteries need re-charging.

I will try & heed my own advice.

Cheers