What's Wrong With Journalists & Historians
there's nobody with less Skin in The Game
“Journalism is about events, not absence of events” (Taleb, 194)
This is one of journalism’s key issues. They always need something to talk about. They need to keep giving people reasons to tune in tomorrow.
The Problem With Studying History
The same problem has history in a chokehold. Last month, we read Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind and one idea that has stuck with me is that we imagine everybody in history constantly in conflict. We imagine all-encompassing epic battles as The Roman Empire ruined every person’s life in every town they conquered.
Yet, in reality, a few people did history, while most lived their normal lives as farmers regardless of any war or empire change. Most people cooperated because that served their interests (to be clear, it’s not that life was kum-ba-ya for everyone, it simply didn’t change much). That’s boring. It’s more interesting to learn about the conflicts and the key actors.
That’s why 99% of history books talk about the conflicts between X and Y groups, the battles, the conquering, the revolutionary ideas and technologies. That’s biased. We conclude that history was always bloody for everyone because we ignore the silent evidence.
History, like Journalism, is Biased
We read books by people who read more books about people who led history. Think of how much information is left out to keep the books we read interesting. There are countless stories of Alexander The Great, maybe a handful on his advisors, and even fewer on the millions of peasants and slaves in his empire.
Would you think a future historian understood the 21st century by studying a hundred books on Joe Biden? Probably not. That’s the same issue we have looking back on history.
Be Aware of Your Sources and your Source’s Sources
Journalists and historians need us to read, they don’t need us to learn. Be careful of your sources of information. The closer to the action, the better.
Read Seneca, not a modern analysis of interpretations of Stoic philosophy.
Read Churchill, not a modern Harvard-trained Historian’s complete works on early 1900s Europe.
And for modern issues… stay away from professional journalists. Especially those working for big news companies. They don’t get paid to tell the truth. They get paid to make you click buttons.
Question of The Day
What’s your favorite book on history? Any recommendations of simple “daily life” accounts in history?
Your Friend,
Noah “BigNerd” Sochaczevski
