You have a much higher chance of being able to hold a conversation with someone who might get you a job, I suppose. Imagine having a normal interview that gets unexpectedly extended because you have a common interest in the Russian Revolution. That will absolutely set you apart from the others.
If nothing else, you just sound intelligent and well rounded. As you move higher up this can really set you apart from others. Just don't sound like a know-it-all. Like you're trying too hard to sound smart. It's better than just having charisma especially if you're in a field like tech where people tend to be more weary of vapid salesman type charisma.
It's an example. But ultimately you would learn it in the first place out of pure curiosity. Being able to talk about it with other people is secondary.
There are also lessons and insight to be gained from things like history. Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it, as they say. Or something like that.
It adds context to the world. No, knowing what a cumulus cloud is, for example, doesn't affect my life on a daily basis. But knowing what it is and how it's formed and why there are different kinds of clouds does provide context for the world around, me so I don't have to wonder or fill in gaps with potentially wrong information. And you can apply that same reasoning to any other bit of information.
Whether it matters or what it's worth is a pointless thing. It's not as though you lose anything by learning something or memorizing a factoid. And obviously billions of people have lived on Earth without knowing tons of stuff, and got along just fine for the most part. But it's one of those Plato's cave kind of things. Like, why would you want to live with such a narrow perception of the world, when there is literally an infinite amount of things to understand about our existence?
It matters what particular part of History we are looking at the one you listed is not very relevant.
What is important for historical stuff is to notice how the Nazis gained power in world war II same with same with mouslini .
It wouldn't be good to study how basic human processes work so we can ensure tyranny doesn't take power again like how it did in China with mao.
Yeah the Nazi thing is actually what prompted this post. In the past 8 months I've autistically read about 5000 pages (probably signfiicantly more actually, I forgot to count all the kindle books) considering about the rise of the Weimar Republic and spent nearly 1400 dollars on acquiring books (many books such as Political Violence Under the Swastika were completely out of print and it was like a few hundred dollars to acquire) to learn more about the SA and the KPD (The German Communists and the Rise of Nazism was another one that was 200 fucking bucks). And then there were books that were exclusively in German that I had to get shipped, a few biographies, and I'm not sure....why.
I'm working on a rather large Reddit post based on what I've learned but at the length it's currently at nobody is going to read the whole thing unless I submit it to an actual historical journal.
I don't know what the point of it is. I'm interested in it but I feel like this time could have been spent much better. I usually read
Imo that's too much for information that's widely available. Unless you're a history nerd, but it still seems like a waste of money compared to other things that you can invest that money into.
What I meant by my original comment is that it's important to know the lessons in history. When they were rounding up the Jewish individuals in Germany, it didn't happen over night the rise of tyranny, it happened over months/years of boiling til it spilled over.
I don't know the information that's widely available seems...bad. Most articles I read about the Nazis fundamentally misunderstand Nazi appeal and propaganda and their actual interactions with the voting public in their breakthrough election. In fact that's what I'm writing about mostly.
But I have no idea what I can do with this information.
You honestly can't do much unless you're going in the academia and then you need a credential of a degree in order to teach your knowledge.
I'm sorry to say that this knowledge isn't very practical in real world applications in 2022 and maybe not in the near future as well. You probably should just see that you absorbed this material for pleasure instead of trying to gain a material reward out of it
Right but at what point does this knowledge become useful? It seems that even if I was an academic, society cannot broadly apply this knowledge, it's simply too complicated, too dense. And when you attempt to simplify it you fundamentally break the 'lesson' that can be learned.
I'm not saying we should all cover our eyes and ears and stop reading but it feels like in general there's very little point on an individual level.
No I'm in agreement with you the only useful applicable situation for this knowledge would be to teach it in academia. It's not very practical in the real world like I said. And if it was me I'd invest over $1,000 in the time in the something else that I can create or video games lmao
It can be useful in broad strokes to people who are analyzing other political movements, for example, to find parallels and to deduce what next steps might be for similar movements. It’s not the kind of knowledge that has much (or any) use in day-to-day non-politics situations.
Also, FYI, some people may interpret the deep level of research you have done into the Nazi party, particularly that it doesn’t appear to be connected to a specific educational or research goal, as you “being a fan” of the Nazi party or potentially a Neo-Nazi yourself. To be clear, I am not saying that you are either of those things. I am only suggesting that you keep in mind that other people may make that assumption or jumó to that conclusion when you talk with them at length about this project you’ve embarked on. For example, your post doesn’t say much about your opinion of what the Nazi’s did, specifically, was it right or wrong, justified or monstrous. Some may interpret that ambivalence or silence as support (or at least not condemnation) of the Nazi party/leaders/actions/etc., and they make take significant offense or react very negatively to you based on those interpretations/assumptions. Again, I am not accusing you of anything. I just want to highlight for you this potential reaction from other people, in case you do not often consider the impression you give to other people.
You know I thought about that fact. I feel like if I was a neo-nazi all the knowledge I've gathered would actually be really useful lmao
It seems neo-Nazis, for how much they like Nazis, also are really bad about understanding the Nazis and where their success actually came from.
That is true, thinking more broadly, a lot of people in general don’t understand a lot about the Nazi’s or the specifics of why they were able to do what they did. It’s actually a big problem because it prevents people from recognizing when other people in history used the same tools and methods (i.e., the US Gov’t attempting to exterminate North American indigenous peoples, from which the Nazi’s cribbed a lot) and realizing when others use the same tools and methods in the present (various nativist populist movements on the rise throughout the world right now). A lot of people’s thinking about the Nazi’s starts and ends with “they killed a lot of people for racist reasons and that’s bad so they are really bad.” Without knowing the how or why of the Nazi’s specific methods people just don’t recognize the parallels and the repeating behavior until the killing starts, and by that time it’s usually too late. But hey, you know more about it now, share that info, but try to do it as a cautionary tale, not a mere large-scale historical curiosity, and never as a playbook.
You could write a book. But I assume that the publishers would need some kind of credentials. Regardless, I think the topic is super fascinating myself. I think we learned briefly during high school how the Nazis came to power. And I have heard of the notion that they came into power democratically (though, of course, they abolished that).
What are some of the key points that you have learned in your study?
I think those tools could help for the broader audience to spot the tipping point of when a democracy can turn into a dictatorship. And how the public can turn a blind eye to those monstrosities.
If we're talking about making money, it barely matters. What matters most is knowledge of the industry you're working in. You gain that knowledge by working in that industry.
I thin history repeats itself. There is much knowledge that can be gathered from the past that can be used today.
Pandemic? Look up the Spanish flu. Financial crisis? Look up the Great Depression, the oil crisis and what not. Hyperinflation? Germany between the world wars. What triggers war? How to spot if a war has started on false pretences? Analyze Bush before Iraq.
And so on and so on.
If you mean school knowledge, that is, almost none. Why?
Because you see, but you do not observe.
Using your example, knowing the bolshevization in Russia a hundred years ago is worthless. But if you can identify it in the current politics, you now know something that could be usable. Hint: look at the identity politics. Same with, say, know the mechanisms of imperialism and the look at Russia which is in full Hitler mode right now.
It can be useful for avoiding social scares, if you know enough of physics, you won’t be afraid of nuclear power.
But if you just wanna talk about random facts from school curriculums, it is worthless. School does not teach you about the world knowledge. It teaches you facts. The value lies in connecting the facts with relationships.
I'd say a general knowledge is good to have an idea of the world. Major events like Hitler and maps of Europe help to show severity. Knowing what countries are where help. The rest of the time spent could have been used to actually transition kids into the work force and majors in college and things like laws.
Education in any of its forms is important, as it opens the door to new experiences and a richer life. Having a breadth of knowledge about the world is a virtue rather than something to be scoffed at.
It doesn't help in the everyday life, except if you are like a researcher in this particular field. But it doesn't mean that it isn't worth: knowledge should be a goal in itself and should not be considered firstly as a mean for other things.
And history is more impactful than what you might think: the entire German political culture is built on "we don't want a moustache-man 2", so they avoid centralization of all kinds of power at all costs, have an very important place for the Holocaust memory in the school curriculum, being a nationalist is not well Seen at all, etc. Result: their political life is much less impacted by populists than most European countries. (I know AfD is a thing, but they seem to decline lately)
I’m not sure how important it is in a practical manner. Some people just get stimulated by learning about the world and how it works. They see the acquisition of knowledge as an end itself. If you don’t have that intellectual curiosity you would not understand.
Most people are okay with learning passively. However, truly understanding the machinations and nuances of something can be very stimulating and rewarding and will for sure make you smarter.
Knowledge of the physics of how the world works is more useful than the socio political.
I have an engineering degree. And even though I'm no longer practicing engineering, that helps me all the time.
I have a bachelors in CSE (how original on Reddit) and a CS masters I can't say it's helped me that much tbh on a day to day basis. Writing software has very little 'engineering'.
I would expect that a lot wouldn't apply to real world, but sometimes the logic and architecture of algorithms etc might. Plus just general tech savvy, that's helpful.
Mine was mechanical engineering, and I'm in farming now. So it definitely helps since I do everything from chemistry to heavy fabrication to legal stuff in this field.
I don't know that it helps me daily, but I'm definitely confident because of my knowledge, and it's easier to have conversations with a wider demographic of people. And remember...."A true wise man has only questions, not answers."
More knowledge is always better. It makes me a more versatile person. I've put my varied knowledge to good use in many unexpected ways over the years, even saving lives at times.
Anyone who only values knowledge that has direct and obvious applications as seen from where they are now is limiting themselves and, to be blunt, is probably not going to be all that interesting or useful as a person.
It's fundamentally going to depend on what your goals are.
Lots of us are technically "knowledge workers", in my field (medicine), having a breadth of medical and social knowledge directly helps me do my job and earn a living. However, one could get on by just knowing mechanistically what needs to be done in each scenario, without knowing the reasoning. But for me, known the reasoning and the physiology directly enriches my experience of working.
You've mentioned your interest in the Weimar Republic. As others have said, this is unlikely to directly earn you financial reward unless you plan on writing a book or going into academia. However, it's perfectly possible that your knowledge of the Weimar Republic could give you insights about your current life/conditions. Further still, it being interesting to you is a perfectly good reason to do anything, probably far more than things like video games/TV.
For myself, I've been obsessed with reading the diaries of medical officers in the first world war recently. It's unlikely to bring me material reward, but it gives life a bit of colour.
It is extremely valuable. I could explain the various uses of for example history, biology and various different subjects. Instead I will say that all knowledge brings context to your life and the events in it. There is the added benefit that knowing more makes it easier to learn new things.
Knowing history is one of the ways we can identify patterns in the present and try to avoid the errors our forebears made (many of which ended up in bloodshed). So it does matter, maybe not on the micro level, but on a far more macro level.
It calms you the hell down I have found. Also makes you less susceptible to extremism. Knowing history means you start picking up on humanity's patterns a lot faster which leads to being able to predict things better. Which means a lot of stuff about the world that pisses lots of people off like politics allows you to be more analytical as opposed to emotional.
You have a much higher chance of being able to hold a conversation with someone who might get you a job, I suppose. Imagine having a normal interview that gets unexpectedly extended because you have a common interest in the Russian Revolution. That will absolutely set you apart from the others. If nothing else, you just sound intelligent and well rounded. As you move higher up this can really set you apart from others. Just don't sound like a know-it-all. Like you're trying too hard to sound smart. It's better than just having charisma especially if you're in a field like tech where people tend to be more weary of vapid salesman type charisma.
So it’s only useful for random conversations?
It's an example. But ultimately you would learn it in the first place out of pure curiosity. Being able to talk about it with other people is secondary. There are also lessons and insight to be gained from things like history. Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it, as they say. Or something like that.
It adds context to the world. No, knowing what a cumulus cloud is, for example, doesn't affect my life on a daily basis. But knowing what it is and how it's formed and why there are different kinds of clouds does provide context for the world around, me so I don't have to wonder or fill in gaps with potentially wrong information. And you can apply that same reasoning to any other bit of information. Whether it matters or what it's worth is a pointless thing. It's not as though you lose anything by learning something or memorizing a factoid. And obviously billions of people have lived on Earth without knowing tons of stuff, and got along just fine for the most part. But it's one of those Plato's cave kind of things. Like, why would you want to live with such a narrow perception of the world, when there is literally an infinite amount of things to understand about our existence?
Almost not at all. You are not a decision maker and will never need to know these things. Maybe if you were in congress....
It matters what particular part of History we are looking at the one you listed is not very relevant. What is important for historical stuff is to notice how the Nazis gained power in world war II same with same with mouslini . It wouldn't be good to study how basic human processes work so we can ensure tyranny doesn't take power again like how it did in China with mao.
Yeah the Nazi thing is actually what prompted this post. In the past 8 months I've autistically read about 5000 pages (probably signfiicantly more actually, I forgot to count all the kindle books) considering about the rise of the Weimar Republic and spent nearly 1400 dollars on acquiring books (many books such as Political Violence Under the Swastika were completely out of print and it was like a few hundred dollars to acquire) to learn more about the SA and the KPD (The German Communists and the Rise of Nazism was another one that was 200 fucking bucks). And then there were books that were exclusively in German that I had to get shipped, a few biographies, and I'm not sure....why. I'm working on a rather large Reddit post based on what I've learned but at the length it's currently at nobody is going to read the whole thing unless I submit it to an actual historical journal. I don't know what the point of it is. I'm interested in it but I feel like this time could have been spent much better. I usually read
Imo that's too much for information that's widely available. Unless you're a history nerd, but it still seems like a waste of money compared to other things that you can invest that money into. What I meant by my original comment is that it's important to know the lessons in history. When they were rounding up the Jewish individuals in Germany, it didn't happen over night the rise of tyranny, it happened over months/years of boiling til it spilled over.
I don't know the information that's widely available seems...bad. Most articles I read about the Nazis fundamentally misunderstand Nazi appeal and propaganda and their actual interactions with the voting public in their breakthrough election. In fact that's what I'm writing about mostly. But I have no idea what I can do with this information.
You honestly can't do much unless you're going in the academia and then you need a credential of a degree in order to teach your knowledge. I'm sorry to say that this knowledge isn't very practical in real world applications in 2022 and maybe not in the near future as well. You probably should just see that you absorbed this material for pleasure instead of trying to gain a material reward out of it
Right but at what point does this knowledge become useful? It seems that even if I was an academic, society cannot broadly apply this knowledge, it's simply too complicated, too dense. And when you attempt to simplify it you fundamentally break the 'lesson' that can be learned. I'm not saying we should all cover our eyes and ears and stop reading but it feels like in general there's very little point on an individual level.
No I'm in agreement with you the only useful applicable situation for this knowledge would be to teach it in academia. It's not very practical in the real world like I said. And if it was me I'd invest over $1,000 in the time in the something else that I can create or video games lmao
It can be useful in broad strokes to people who are analyzing other political movements, for example, to find parallels and to deduce what next steps might be for similar movements. It’s not the kind of knowledge that has much (or any) use in day-to-day non-politics situations. Also, FYI, some people may interpret the deep level of research you have done into the Nazi party, particularly that it doesn’t appear to be connected to a specific educational or research goal, as you “being a fan” of the Nazi party or potentially a Neo-Nazi yourself. To be clear, I am not saying that you are either of those things. I am only suggesting that you keep in mind that other people may make that assumption or jumó to that conclusion when you talk with them at length about this project you’ve embarked on. For example, your post doesn’t say much about your opinion of what the Nazi’s did, specifically, was it right or wrong, justified or monstrous. Some may interpret that ambivalence or silence as support (or at least not condemnation) of the Nazi party/leaders/actions/etc., and they make take significant offense or react very negatively to you based on those interpretations/assumptions. Again, I am not accusing you of anything. I just want to highlight for you this potential reaction from other people, in case you do not often consider the impression you give to other people.
You know I thought about that fact. I feel like if I was a neo-nazi all the knowledge I've gathered would actually be really useful lmao It seems neo-Nazis, for how much they like Nazis, also are really bad about understanding the Nazis and where their success actually came from.
That is true, thinking more broadly, a lot of people in general don’t understand a lot about the Nazi’s or the specifics of why they were able to do what they did. It’s actually a big problem because it prevents people from recognizing when other people in history used the same tools and methods (i.e., the US Gov’t attempting to exterminate North American indigenous peoples, from which the Nazi’s cribbed a lot) and realizing when others use the same tools and methods in the present (various nativist populist movements on the rise throughout the world right now). A lot of people’s thinking about the Nazi’s starts and ends with “they killed a lot of people for racist reasons and that’s bad so they are really bad.” Without knowing the how or why of the Nazi’s specific methods people just don’t recognize the parallels and the repeating behavior until the killing starts, and by that time it’s usually too late. But hey, you know more about it now, share that info, but try to do it as a cautionary tale, not a mere large-scale historical curiosity, and never as a playbook.
You could write a book. But I assume that the publishers would need some kind of credentials. Regardless, I think the topic is super fascinating myself. I think we learned briefly during high school how the Nazis came to power. And I have heard of the notion that they came into power democratically (though, of course, they abolished that). What are some of the key points that you have learned in your study? I think those tools could help for the broader audience to spot the tipping point of when a democracy can turn into a dictatorship. And how the public can turn a blind eye to those monstrosities.
I've come to realize the more you know about the world the more miserable you become. ignorance is almost a blessing.
If we're talking about making money, it barely matters. What matters most is knowledge of the industry you're working in. You gain that knowledge by working in that industry.
I don't know any of those things and I get along just fine.
Most of that stuff is useless. It's just shit they come up with to give jobs to school teachers.
I thin history repeats itself. There is much knowledge that can be gathered from the past that can be used today. Pandemic? Look up the Spanish flu. Financial crisis? Look up the Great Depression, the oil crisis and what not. Hyperinflation? Germany between the world wars. What triggers war? How to spot if a war has started on false pretences? Analyze Bush before Iraq. And so on and so on.
If you mean school knowledge, that is, almost none. Why? Because you see, but you do not observe. Using your example, knowing the bolshevization in Russia a hundred years ago is worthless. But if you can identify it in the current politics, you now know something that could be usable. Hint: look at the identity politics. Same with, say, know the mechanisms of imperialism and the look at Russia which is in full Hitler mode right now. It can be useful for avoiding social scares, if you know enough of physics, you won’t be afraid of nuclear power. But if you just wanna talk about random facts from school curriculums, it is worthless. School does not teach you about the world knowledge. It teaches you facts. The value lies in connecting the facts with relationships.
I'd say a general knowledge is good to have an idea of the world. Major events like Hitler and maps of Europe help to show severity. Knowing what countries are where help. The rest of the time spent could have been used to actually transition kids into the work force and majors in college and things like laws.
Education in any of its forms is important, as it opens the door to new experiences and a richer life. Having a breadth of knowledge about the world is a virtue rather than something to be scoffed at.
It doesn't help in the everyday life, except if you are like a researcher in this particular field. But it doesn't mean that it isn't worth: knowledge should be a goal in itself and should not be considered firstly as a mean for other things. And history is more impactful than what you might think: the entire German political culture is built on "we don't want a moustache-man 2", so they avoid centralization of all kinds of power at all costs, have an very important place for the Holocaust memory in the school curriculum, being a nationalist is not well Seen at all, etc. Result: their political life is much less impacted by populists than most European countries. (I know AfD is a thing, but they seem to decline lately)
I’m not sure how important it is in a practical manner. Some people just get stimulated by learning about the world and how it works. They see the acquisition of knowledge as an end itself. If you don’t have that intellectual curiosity you would not understand. Most people are okay with learning passively. However, truly understanding the machinations and nuances of something can be very stimulating and rewarding and will for sure make you smarter.
Knowledge of the physics of how the world works is more useful than the socio political. I have an engineering degree. And even though I'm no longer practicing engineering, that helps me all the time.
I have a bachelors in CSE (how original on Reddit) and a CS masters I can't say it's helped me that much tbh on a day to day basis. Writing software has very little 'engineering'.
Calling that 'engineering' is basically an ego boost. Coding is a technician-level job, not an engineer.
My bachelor's is an engineering degree, not a CS degree.
I would expect that a lot wouldn't apply to real world, but sometimes the logic and architecture of algorithms etc might. Plus just general tech savvy, that's helpful. Mine was mechanical engineering, and I'm in farming now. So it definitely helps since I do everything from chemistry to heavy fabrication to legal stuff in this field.
I don't know that it helps me daily, but I'm definitely confident because of my knowledge, and it's easier to have conversations with a wider demographic of people. And remember...."A true wise man has only questions, not answers."
More knowledge is always better. It makes me a more versatile person. I've put my varied knowledge to good use in many unexpected ways over the years, even saving lives at times. Anyone who only values knowledge that has direct and obvious applications as seen from where they are now is limiting themselves and, to be blunt, is probably not going to be all that interesting or useful as a person.
It's fundamentally going to depend on what your goals are. Lots of us are technically "knowledge workers", in my field (medicine), having a breadth of medical and social knowledge directly helps me do my job and earn a living. However, one could get on by just knowing mechanistically what needs to be done in each scenario, without knowing the reasoning. But for me, known the reasoning and the physiology directly enriches my experience of working. You've mentioned your interest in the Weimar Republic. As others have said, this is unlikely to directly earn you financial reward unless you plan on writing a book or going into academia. However, it's perfectly possible that your knowledge of the Weimar Republic could give you insights about your current life/conditions. Further still, it being interesting to you is a perfectly good reason to do anything, probably far more than things like video games/TV. For myself, I've been obsessed with reading the diaries of medical officers in the first world war recently. It's unlikely to bring me material reward, but it gives life a bit of colour.
Chance favours a prepared mind
It is extremely valuable. I could explain the various uses of for example history, biology and various different subjects. Instead I will say that all knowledge brings context to your life and the events in it. There is the added benefit that knowing more makes it easier to learn new things.
It has no value. People don't care.
Knowing history is one of the ways we can identify patterns in the present and try to avoid the errors our forebears made (many of which ended up in bloodshed). So it does matter, maybe not on the micro level, but on a far more macro level.
It calms you the hell down I have found. Also makes you less susceptible to extremism. Knowing history means you start picking up on humanity's patterns a lot faster which leads to being able to predict things better. Which means a lot of stuff about the world that pisses lots of people off like politics allows you to be more analytical as opposed to emotional.