Reflections by Group 1
Hong Hui's Reflection
From this chapter, I have learnt much about how people reconstruct the past, and also about how people piece out the picture of the past, through discovering small pieces of evidence. Identifying and evaluating discovered evidence is important as you might just get the entire picture wrong, if you do not evaluate it. Even through thorough evaluation, the evidence might be false.
I believe that it is important to reconstruct the past in order to learn from those experiences. I also believe that we must separate reliable sources of evidences from unreliable ones, or it might mislead people for many years, for example the Pitdown Hoax.
Especially in wars and conflicts, different sides tend to disclose false information, in order to portray their side as the side which is just, and should be supported, thus many sources from wars are unreliable. I am both surprised and amazed at the perseverance of the historians, as they can discover so much through pieces of evidence even though they many encounter numerous dead ends.
New evidences are constantly being discovered, leading to the people questioning the reliability of these pieces of evidence. Who knows? Maybe the past could prove to be quite different from what we originally thought.
I believe that it is important to reconstruct the past in order to learn from those experiences. I also believe that we must separate reliable sources of evidences from unreliable ones, or it might mislead people for many years, for example the Pitdown Hoax.
Especially in wars and conflicts, different sides tend to disclose false information, in order to portray their side as the side which is just, and should be supported, thus many sources from wars are unreliable. I am both surprised and amazed at the perseverance of the historians, as they can discover so much through pieces of evidence even though they many encounter numerous dead ends.
New evidences are constantly being discovered, leading to the people questioning the reliability of these pieces of evidence. Who knows? Maybe the past could prove to be quite different from what we originally thought.
Wayne's Reflection
By reconstructing the past, the later generations of mankind can learn from the mistakes that their predecessors had committed or learn the methods that they used to achieve success by studying the history that is unearthed. This could ultimately result in the improvement of society and its standards. However, most of us would think why should we learn about the lives of dead people and lost civilizations by reconstructing the past? After all they are all in the past and will not directly or at the very least, indirectly affect our way of living and the structure of society. Sadly, they failed to think about the origins of the structural organization of society and the common way that we modern people think.
For example, most people would not know about the samsui women who contributed to the building of Singapore, or the story of the battle of 300 Spartans and a few hundred thousand Persians. Therefore, it is essential for us to know the few basic ways of reconstructing the past like differentiating primary and secondary sources for evidences and whether it is an artifact, pictorial evidence, written evidence, oral evidence etc.
Through this ATT, I have learnt teamwork and the need to distribute the work done by the group members properly. Also, I have learnt to organize my time better in order to accommodate this ATT. I have also better familiarize myself with History and learnt to better appreciate its importance in my studies.
For example, most people would not know about the samsui women who contributed to the building of Singapore, or the story of the battle of 300 Spartans and a few hundred thousand Persians. Therefore, it is essential for us to know the few basic ways of reconstructing the past like differentiating primary and secondary sources for evidences and whether it is an artifact, pictorial evidence, written evidence, oral evidence etc.
Through this ATT, I have learnt teamwork and the need to distribute the work done by the group members properly. Also, I have learnt to organize my time better in order to accommodate this ATT. I have also better familiarize myself with History and learnt to better appreciate its importance in my studies.
Rayson's Reflection
I have learnt that the American soldiers were very tough and patriotic. They were pushed to their very limit on death grounds at the Normandy invasion of Germany. Many did not even survive the first wave of bullets from machine guns of the enemy and the air support is not enough to save them. However, they brave it through as they knew that whatever they do, they will die. They fought their very best for the country.
When the soldiers were being deployed into the Normandy beaches, they were in an armored carrier. Before the doors opened, they could hear bullets tattering from all sides. It was like waiting for their death sentence. Then, the doors opened and row by row the soldiers inside the armored carrier fall to their knees and die. It was on death ground that motivates the soldiers to brave through it all. They knew that they have to fight not just for their country, but for themselves- to survive it all.
In the Vietnam War, many American soldiers were being deployed into Vietnam even though they did not want to be there. They fought for all the wrong cause just as a means of a political end. When the Americans soldiers came back, they were not showered with praise or a hero’s welcome. Instead, they were labeled murderers and many people did not like them. They despised them. This causes even the most experienced war veterans to lower their morale and physiological thinking to rock bottom. They have lost all their friends and brothers in the war and yet they were labeled as murderers. This showed the cruel side of politics.
War unites humanity to feel madness, horror, and insanity. Never did people wonder about their mothers, fathers, children, and their extended families of friends, what did they sacrificed. Many soldiers in Vietnam thought why did they get into fighting? From the moment they landed on Vietnam, they noticed the beauty of its land with its dense vegetation. Vietnamese were wirey but delicate. But then war comes, all in the name of ‘‘Politics”. Soldiers started to see war as immoral, morally wrong. Soldiers agree, that poor and undeveloped nation should not be displaced or obliterated. A soldier does not want to believe their nation is lying when they are told they are needed in defense of democracy in the world.
In my opinion, the wounds of war never go away. And just as the over 58,000 names which are etched in the Vietnam Memorial Wall cannot be erased. This government cannot gloss over the death toll of millions of Southeast Asians and estimated 650,000 which is mounting in the Middle East and elsewhere. What angered me most is that the government never admits their premeditated crimes. Government, aligned with greedy corporate financiers, never apologizes.
For those who have the courage to admit that war is not noble in any sense, a humble strength and moral authority is freely given, commissions to help prevent future wars and unnecessary suffering. The present war-hate is total absurdity. If we fail to cultivate honest virtues and refuse to teach future generations not to hate, rather choosing to continue the repetition of wars, then it still "don't mean nothin.'"
When the soldiers were being deployed into the Normandy beaches, they were in an armored carrier. Before the doors opened, they could hear bullets tattering from all sides. It was like waiting for their death sentence. Then, the doors opened and row by row the soldiers inside the armored carrier fall to their knees and die. It was on death ground that motivates the soldiers to brave through it all. They knew that they have to fight not just for their country, but for themselves- to survive it all.
In the Vietnam War, many American soldiers were being deployed into Vietnam even though they did not want to be there. They fought for all the wrong cause just as a means of a political end. When the Americans soldiers came back, they were not showered with praise or a hero’s welcome. Instead, they were labeled murderers and many people did not like them. They despised them. This causes even the most experienced war veterans to lower their morale and physiological thinking to rock bottom. They have lost all their friends and brothers in the war and yet they were labeled as murderers. This showed the cruel side of politics.
War unites humanity to feel madness, horror, and insanity. Never did people wonder about their mothers, fathers, children, and their extended families of friends, what did they sacrificed. Many soldiers in Vietnam thought why did they get into fighting? From the moment they landed on Vietnam, they noticed the beauty of its land with its dense vegetation. Vietnamese were wirey but delicate. But then war comes, all in the name of ‘‘Politics”. Soldiers started to see war as immoral, morally wrong. Soldiers agree, that poor and undeveloped nation should not be displaced or obliterated. A soldier does not want to believe their nation is lying when they are told they are needed in defense of democracy in the world.
In my opinion, the wounds of war never go away. And just as the over 58,000 names which are etched in the Vietnam Memorial Wall cannot be erased. This government cannot gloss over the death toll of millions of Southeast Asians and estimated 650,000 which is mounting in the Middle East and elsewhere. What angered me most is that the government never admits their premeditated crimes. Government, aligned with greedy corporate financiers, never apologizes.
For those who have the courage to admit that war is not noble in any sense, a humble strength and moral authority is freely given, commissions to help prevent future wars and unnecessary suffering. The present war-hate is total absurdity. If we fail to cultivate honest virtues and refuse to teach future generations not to hate, rather choosing to continue the repetition of wars, then it still "don't mean nothin.'"
Wei Wen's Reflection
In my opinion, this chapter, “Reconstructing the past”, shows us very clearly, the procedures which historians have to go through, to analyse every single bit of evidence, whether it is pictorial, oral, written, or artefacts. This shows us, the thoroughness in which historians go through their evidence. And, thus, this job is very commendable.
What makes me sympathise with these historians, is that their efforts have been widely ignored by the students of today, many who believe that there is no point in studying history, and that other subjects are much more interesting. However, they have failed to understand main reasons why we have to study history. Those reasons are simple.
Through history, we can start to understand change, and how our society, the Earth we live in right now, came to be. Of course, more importantly, we learn from the past successes and failures, so that we will attempt to recreate these successes, and give these failures, a wide berth. Perhaps most importantly, it helps to inculcate in us, what the governments and the general society have been trying to get past to us for centuries, a respect and understanding of one another, thus creating bridges that will span wide cultural and racial differences, thus bringing together, our Earth and society.
Through this chapter, I have learnt much about Secondary and Primary sources. But, I believe that the most important thing is how they reconstruct the past through these pieces of evidence. Much, if not all, of this evidence, go through a meticulous process, known as the Evaluation of the Evidence. How, one might wonder.
The historians must first find out the Credibility of these evidences, by thinking of the trustworthiness of the evidence they have obtained from a person. Thus, if they believe that the particular person had any reason to lie, the evidence will probably be deemed false.
Then, they proceed to take a look at the Consistency of the evidence. They figure out the evidence’s consistency, by checking of it contains statements that have similar meanings.
But, that is not all. They have to check the corroboration of the evidence. For example, if this piece of evidence is contradicted by another piece of evidence which has backing, it will still be considered invalid, and put aside.
Considering what the historians have to go through, just to evaluate the evidence, much less the actual attempt at finding it, we should appreciate on what the historians have done for us, and attempt to use these facts, when we are working, or even during school. After all, we will learn about what is needed, for success and what will lead to failures. If we all respect the past, and strive to study it, I believe that many of us will make our mark on the history of mankind in the near future. After all, we will learn about resilience and perseverance, which are both essential, to help one succeed in the future.
The reason why historians evaluate the evidence is that the evidence has quite a chance of being an opinion, instead of a fact. Of course, we might never know if this “fact” might actually be an opinion, even if it had been evaluated, and given the green light. After all, nothing can, and ever will be certain. However, it helps to lower the risk of inputting a wrong fact into history.
Therefore, I believe that such a system, which is the evaluation of evidence, is very efficient, and helps to bring down the percentage chance of evidence being an opinion or a fact.
Of course, the past is “living”, which means that our concept of our past, is constantly changing, as new pieces of contradictory or compliant evidence is constantly being found, thus influencing our view of history, as some “facts” will be removed due to these contradictions, and other facts will have a stronger “backing” as they comply with each other. Also, as historians pose newer questions with each generation, our view of the past, will be shaped along such questions.
I also believe that the past of female, should also be discovered, and told. After all, through the years, the female of all societies and races, across all five continents, and seven seas, have made a huge impact on the world. Take a look at the female pirate captains who travelled the seas, i.e Grace O'Malley .They were part of the community which first starting using Democracy, which is the main political ideology in most countries today. Of course, we must not forget Catherine the Great, who ruled over Mother Russia. Under her rule, the Russian Empire expanded, improved its administration, and continued to modernize along Western European lines. Catherine's rule re-vitalized Russia, which grew stronger than ever and became recognized as one of the great powers of Europe. Thus, I strongly support the inculcation of “her-story”, thus bringing to light, what the great females of our society, had went through, to help build the world we had today.
What makes me sympathise with these historians, is that their efforts have been widely ignored by the students of today, many who believe that there is no point in studying history, and that other subjects are much more interesting. However, they have failed to understand main reasons why we have to study history. Those reasons are simple.
Through history, we can start to understand change, and how our society, the Earth we live in right now, came to be. Of course, more importantly, we learn from the past successes and failures, so that we will attempt to recreate these successes, and give these failures, a wide berth. Perhaps most importantly, it helps to inculcate in us, what the governments and the general society have been trying to get past to us for centuries, a respect and understanding of one another, thus creating bridges that will span wide cultural and racial differences, thus bringing together, our Earth and society.
Through this chapter, I have learnt much about Secondary and Primary sources. But, I believe that the most important thing is how they reconstruct the past through these pieces of evidence. Much, if not all, of this evidence, go through a meticulous process, known as the Evaluation of the Evidence. How, one might wonder.
The historians must first find out the Credibility of these evidences, by thinking of the trustworthiness of the evidence they have obtained from a person. Thus, if they believe that the particular person had any reason to lie, the evidence will probably be deemed false.
Then, they proceed to take a look at the Consistency of the evidence. They figure out the evidence’s consistency, by checking of it contains statements that have similar meanings.
But, that is not all. They have to check the corroboration of the evidence. For example, if this piece of evidence is contradicted by another piece of evidence which has backing, it will still be considered invalid, and put aside.
Considering what the historians have to go through, just to evaluate the evidence, much less the actual attempt at finding it, we should appreciate on what the historians have done for us, and attempt to use these facts, when we are working, or even during school. After all, we will learn about what is needed, for success and what will lead to failures. If we all respect the past, and strive to study it, I believe that many of us will make our mark on the history of mankind in the near future. After all, we will learn about resilience and perseverance, which are both essential, to help one succeed in the future.
The reason why historians evaluate the evidence is that the evidence has quite a chance of being an opinion, instead of a fact. Of course, we might never know if this “fact” might actually be an opinion, even if it had been evaluated, and given the green light. After all, nothing can, and ever will be certain. However, it helps to lower the risk of inputting a wrong fact into history.
Therefore, I believe that such a system, which is the evaluation of evidence, is very efficient, and helps to bring down the percentage chance of evidence being an opinion or a fact.
Of course, the past is “living”, which means that our concept of our past, is constantly changing, as new pieces of contradictory or compliant evidence is constantly being found, thus influencing our view of history, as some “facts” will be removed due to these contradictions, and other facts will have a stronger “backing” as they comply with each other. Also, as historians pose newer questions with each generation, our view of the past, will be shaped along such questions.
I also believe that the past of female, should also be discovered, and told. After all, through the years, the female of all societies and races, across all five continents, and seven seas, have made a huge impact on the world. Take a look at the female pirate captains who travelled the seas, i.e Grace O'Malley .They were part of the community which first starting using Democracy, which is the main political ideology in most countries today. Of course, we must not forget Catherine the Great, who ruled over Mother Russia. Under her rule, the Russian Empire expanded, improved its administration, and continued to modernize along Western European lines. Catherine's rule re-vitalized Russia, which grew stronger than ever and became recognized as one of the great powers of Europe. Thus, I strongly support the inculcation of “her-story”, thus bringing to light, what the great females of our society, had went through, to help build the world we had today.
