Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Tonypandy's got me pondering life



Over the years, I’ve been assigned a number of books to read for a variety of different classes. The majority of the time, I can tell just by glancing at the book whether or not I am going to enjoy the text. I seldom find my first impression to be wrong. However, I can honestly say “Daughter of Time” surprised me. I was under the impression that I was about to read a book which would simply spit out facts about Richard III; I certainly didn’t expect it be so thought provoking.

            Throughout the first few chapters, I knew I’d been wrong already, and was definitely interested in where the story would go. It wasn’t until this whole idea of “tonypandy” came up, though, that my mind really started racing. At first, I was just amazed at how easily Alan Grant made me question the legitimacy of everyone’s thoughts on Richard III. Everyone’s thoughts on the King were so negative, and so concrete, but when they were asked to elaborate on what they “know” about him, they’re responses were almost comical. The Amazon nurse said he had been born with a full set of teeth and chewed his way out of the womb. The Midget nurse never really supported herself, she just “knew”. Naturally, the more Grant researched, the more I started to believe he may be onto something.

            Sure, I thought about Richard III for a little while after I put the book down. I thought about messed up it would be if his image has been tarnished over the years, when he may not have actually been the villain he was made out to be. However, as I continued to read, I almost found it hard to concentrate on Richard III specifically. Richard is an important part of history, but in the grand scheme of things, such a small piece. Not to undermine his importance, but what if tonypandy is applicable to all of history?

            We grow up learning about thousands of years of human activity on Earth. I’ve sat in classrooms learning about history’s biggest wars, inventions and figures. I’ve been told which presidents were great, and which were terrible. I’ve been told who caused every major war, and who the “bad guys” were. BUT IT’S 2016. I wasn’t alive for 99% of things I’ve learned in history classes. My teachers also weren’t alive for most the content we learn, and neither were most of the historians putting this information in textbooks. So how do we know what to believe?

            Obviously historians and history teachers are essential, and most of what we’re taught is accurate; it’s just that after reading this book I feel like that “what if?” question will always be in the back my head as I go forward studying important figures and past events.

8 comments:

  1. I completely agree with your idea that "tonypandy" can be applied to all of history. Although most events are true, there is so much that goes into every event, historical figure, and inventions, that someone was bound to slip up somewhere. I think that an evidence of bias can be found in every textbook regarding history and unfortunately, bias and tonypandy go hand-in-hand.

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  2. I agree with you. I myself can "what if" everything to death about an event or person and go through every situation and circumstance with that mentality. There are a lot of things we can conclude as "fact" and other things be questionable. Tonypandy will never go away, but as time and technology go on we can start to turn things into more substantial and credible information. There will be less shades of grey. I can simply say that because in this day and age video cameras wont tell a lie. Personal perspective however is where the bias comes in.

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  3. Hey Noah!
    I definitely think that the idea of tonypandy can be applied throughout history. We can't know for sure what exactly happened in history unless we were there and we aren't lying. Or, ofcourse, if something was video/audio recorded. Nowadays it's not so easy for modern history to become a sort of tonypandy just because we have the technology that can prove or disprove if something happened. History before photography, I think, was pretty much hearsay. And since technology has advanced it's harder for people making the history to cover sh*t up. I'm sure if we didn't have the technology we have now events like Watergate and Tailhook would have been downplayed significantly by the people running the show.
    As for what to believe: I guess take everything you learn with a grain of salt. Believe what seems credible to you. If something seems like bullsh*t then it probably is.

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  4. Hey Noah!
    I definitely think that the idea of tonypandy can be applied throughout history. We can't know for sure what exactly happened in history unless we were there and we aren't lying. Or, ofcourse, if something was video/audio recorded. Nowadays it's not so easy for modern history to become a sort of tonypandy just because we have the technology that can prove or disprove if something happened. History before photography, I think, was pretty much hearsay. And since technology has advanced it's harder for people making the history to cover sh*t up. I'm sure if we didn't have the technology we have now events like Watergate and Tailhook would have been downplayed significantly by the people running the show.
    As for what to believe: I guess take everything you learn with a grain of salt. Believe what seems credible to you. If something seems like bullsh*t then it probably is.

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  5. I agree one hundred percent. I think we can all agree that the book caught all of us a bit off gaurd. Especially in the earlier chapters. Also, tonypandy, in my opinion can be applied throughout history. After all, we weren't alive for half of the stuff we learned about in school and there is no way for us to prove what is true and what isn't. All we have to go off of is what we are told and most of us take it as correct since our teachers are the ones that told us. Even though sometimes they lie to us, the first Thanksgiving was not a nice dinner between the pilgrims and indians.

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  6. I totally agree with your thoughts on history and tonypandy. If we weren't alive during the majority of history, it's really hard to say what's true and what isn't. All we have to rely on are our teachers and textbooks, but it's entirely possible that they're fabricated or just plain inaccurate. Like you said here, "We grow up learning about thousands of years of human activity on Earth," we learn a ton of history. I'd argue that it's impossible that we've got the majority of it accurate, since we weren't there. And like the saying goes, the winners write history.

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  7. It's interesting to think that most of what we think we know about our history is inevitably embellished. I agree with you though... I did not expect to get immersed into this book, but I did and it was definitely thought provoking. The "what if" mindset you acquired through reading this book will undoubtedly benefit you as you move through life.

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  8. So many valid points were raised inside your post. It is impossible for us to know what to truly believe seeing as how most history textbooks end at about the same time we were all born. All one can do is really hope that those who are responsible for writing the textbooks are triangulating their information and making sure that multiple sources agree on something before they set it down in stone. It should be a drawn out process, not one that is just rushed into.

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