13th Century Mass Murderer Identified By Modern 'Criminal' Investigation.

[derspiess]

I never found it interesting to know exact dates.  Generally sequence in which things occurred, sure, but the exact date?

Yeah, exact date. 

[garbon]

I never found it interesting to know exact dates.  Generally sequence in which things occurred, sure, but the exact date?

Yeah, exact date. 

What benefit does that provide over knowing generally what occurred contemporaneously (and/or what order)?

[garbon]

We had a lot of that memorization in art history. I'd learn it all the day before test using divided sheet and then let go of all of the dates once the test was over.

[The Brain]

If you don't know dates your ability to understand historical information is reduced significantly.

[Malthus]

Way I look at dates is the same way I look at maps. It helps to know what is where ... and when. Particulatly, in relation to other events, objects, and people.

[garbon]

If you don't know dates your ability to understand historical information is reduced significantly.

I think you can understand historical information without knowing the exact date. Hell for large parts of history, we don't know the exact date.

[The Brain]

If you don't know dates your ability to understand historical information is reduced significantly.

I think you can understand historical information without knowing the exact date. Hell for large parts of history, we don't know the exact date.

I didn't mention exact dates.

[derspiess]

I never found it interesting to know exact dates.  Generally sequence in which things occurred, sure, but the exact date?

Yeah, exact date. 

What benefit does that provide over knowing generally what occurred contemporaneously (and/or what order)?

It satisfies an odd OCD quirk I have

[merithyn]

It satisfies an odd OCD quirk I have

I assumed that's what you were working with. I have friends like that. It's a helpful tool when learning history, that's for sure.

Because the stuff that I'm interested in is less "this happened on this date" and more "during the early 11th century, people did this", real dates not only don't matter, but aren't possible. Sure, knowing who was in power and why helps with understanding why trade routes were open or closed, but in general, having an idea of a time period is really all that's necessary.

At the end of the day, to the common person, it didn't really matter that much who was in charge. Their days continued the same, more or less.

[dps]

my degree is in medieval history.

What a waste of time!

No shit. Why do you think that I went back to school?

I'm almost afraid to ask, but why did you major in history in the first place?  Did you intend to teach history?  I love history, but I never considered it as a major because, really, all you can do with it is teach, and at the time I was going to college, I had zero interest in teaching.

[merithyn]

I'm almost afraid to ask, but why did you major in history in the first place?  Did you intend to teach history?  I love history, but I never considered it as a major because, really, all you can do with it is teach, and at the time I was going to college, I had zero interest in teaching.

I wanted to teach, but my grades weren't good enough to get into the Education College at the time that I needed to apply. So, I completed the degree and considered law school. (Heh.) Then I had babies, and I've been digging myself out of that hole ever since.

[The Brain]

Then I had babies,

You and Malthus should talk.

[Valmy]

Then I had babies

Children really are a blessing.  They saved you from Law School.

[merithyn]

Then I had babies

Children really are a blessing.  They saved you from Law School.

Naw. I'd already decided that law school wasn't my thing. It just took me another 20 years to figure out what my "thing" was, and it had nothing to do with history.

[The Brain]

Then I had babies

Children really are a blessing.  They saved you from Law School.

Naw. I'd already decided that law school wasn't my thing. It just took me another 20 years to figure out what my "thing" was, and it had nothing to do with history.

He has a name you know.