Friday, October 28, 2005

the usefulness of university

"The facts are really not at all like fish on the fishmonger's slab. They are like fish swimming about in a vast and sometimes inaccessible ocean; and what the historian catches will depend, partly on chance, but mainly on which part of the ocean he chooses to fish in and what tackle he chooses to use - these two factors being, of course, determined by the kind of fish he wants to catch. By and large, the historian will get the kind of facts he wants. History means interpretation."
Carr, What Is History? P.23

the discussion of this quote led to my 'what is history?' lecture notes having a sub-heading of

"Fish"

and led us to the conclusion that "we are wading through a sea of facty fish."

i'm liking the ridiculousness of this.

notes from the 'tricks of style' module include:

"i am writing to complain about the large erection my neighbour has in his back garden. it is unsightly and dangerous."

and

"fnar".

woo.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home