In E. H. Gombrich’s bestseller A Little History of the World, he initially describes that, “Behind every ‘Once Upon a Time’ there is always another” (Page 1). He is trying to say that stories told from elders and past generations live on, and they are a continuous cycle that we will never get to the bottom of. Gombrich also includes that asking questions about these ‘Once Upon a Time’ stories shows interest in history. He states, “from now on we’ll always shout: ‘Stop! When did this happen?’ And if we also ask, ‘And how exactly did this happen?’ we will be asking about history. Not just a story, but our story, the story that we call history of the world” (Page 4). The approach that Gombrich is taking on this topic is, even though these ‘Once
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Many of the ideas we utilize today were originated thousands of years ago, were then build on, and perfected. An interesting example Gombrich provides is how the Sumerians (a tribe in Mesopotamia), use “tablets in which merchants recorded their business dealings — contracts, receipts and inventories of goods” (Page 19). All around the world, business deals are made daily. The Sumerians initial idea was built on and adjusted over time, making contracts and business deals more thorough. Another interesting example Gombrich mentions is the “Bronze Age,” which explains how history also impacted the science field. Cavemen “discovered that if you add just a little of another, very rare, metal, it makes copper stronger. That metal is tin. The mixture of tin and copper is called bronze” (Page 9). Cavemen were often referred to as ‘uneducated’ but they actually saved scientists a lot of time, providing them with some basics on the investigation of other formulas. Since then scientists have discovered 117 more elements and the search does not stop there. These examples are only a few of the what the study of history actually is because there are so many aspects. History is often taken for granted, but without the study the world would not be as advanced as it is
Many of the ideas we utilize today were originated thousands of years ago, were then build on, and perfected. An interesting example Gombrich provides is how the Sumerians (a tribe in Mesopotamia), use “tablets in which merchants recorded their business dealings — contracts, receipts and inventories of goods” (Page 19). All around the world, business deals are made daily. The Sumerians initial idea was built on and adjusted over time, making contracts and business deals more thorough. Another interesting example Gombrich mentions is the “Bronze Age,” which explains how history also impacted the science field. Cavemen “discovered that if you add just a little of another, very rare, metal, it makes copper stronger. That metal is tin. The mixture of tin and copper is called bronze” (Page 9). Cavemen were often referred to as ‘uneducated’ but they actually saved scientists a lot of time, providing them with some basics on the investigation of other formulas. Since then scientists have discovered 117 more elements and the search does not stop there. These examples are only a few of the what the study of history actually is because there are so many aspects. History is often taken for granted, but without the study the world would not be as advanced as it is