The Importance of studying History

[Jim Page]

Betty, that those folks who made those comments are silly is beyond question. Having worked a lot with engineers, I can attest that many have developed tunnel vision. At one place I worked, I was told that, "if you ain't an engineer, you ain't sh . .!" Well, I disagree.

That being said, a lot of engineers who I'm still buddies with do not have that tunnel vision.

What I think is useful about studying history is the guidance one receives on how keen minds of the past approached solving their problems. The factors in those problems may be different, but the approaches are still valid. Also, it seems to me that a knowledge of history is the only way to reliably predict the future. People may change, but behavior patterns are surprisingly consistent.

Harry Truman wrote a lot on this subject and he was an extremely wise man.

--Jim