Well you know what “they” say: those who study their history - FUCK! - still end up repeating it, when nobody else around does the same.:-(
Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Those who do learn from history are doomed to look on helplessly as everybody else repeats it.
And due to such things as gerrymandering, we all get to share in the outcome.
Another thing that “they” say:
A stitch in time saves nine
It is not for me to judge exactly, who was not quite there, but very little of what has been done has been performed in secret. People have been watching, and yes even warning us, every step of the way. Now, people are shocked, Shocked I say, SHOCKED, but… we should not be. We all knew, or at least were warned, about the consequences, we simply chose to ignore it all.
e.g. Brexit looks to be something that can never be undone - as in even if it were technically to be done, the UK will never hold such a place of prominence again. It will fade into obscurity, eventually counting itself lucky to join the EU on whatever terms the latter will choose to dictate at that time.
And the USA looks likely to not survive to see that happen - in its current form at least. Assuming that Trump loses the upcoming election, which seems still roughly 50% at this juncture, the Supreme Court shenanigans, the absolute, I mean near-total brokenness of Congress, and the very next election in little more than 4 years time still await. And this time, whoever sits atop the Executive Branch will have the legal authority to assassinate all of their political rivals. Like Brexit, this is by no means over and done, and we can still go so much lower from here.:-(
Which might not be such a bad thing after all, to replace a broken system with a better one, but I do worry about this transition period.
Same. I haven’t used my history degree at all. It has just enabled the “oh, fuck” overdrive in my brain over the last several years. I hate it.
If you think it hasn’t happend before, check again, nothing in history is new
When have we had AI so good the turing test lost it’s whole meaning overnight?
I’ve checked my PC looking for the tiny man managing my local llm, no luck yet but perhaps they’re smaller than I thought…
As someone who consumes a lot of ancient history, it can also make you like “Ah yes, another city rises, another is displaced by climate disaster, and another falls due to land mismanagement. ‘Tis the way of things.”
It’s true. I wonder how many ancient Babylonians, Greeks, Chinese, Egyptians, Persians, Romans thought:
“Surely, this empire will last forever! Look upon our works, ye mighty, and despair!” (EDIT: LOL It appears we’re all of one mind remembering this poem. We must be doing something right. XD)
Especially in modern times it’s insanely difficult to imagine the geopolitics shifting drastically, but it’s happened before, it’s happening now. The difference being that the rest of the globe is now much more invested in your shenanigans with your neighbors, but it’s still happening.
What does one do amidst a regime change?
I’m glad I’ve never had to seriously consider it until now. …but it unnerves me that I probably need to start.
Hegel remarks somewhere[*] that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce
