Historical Blind Spots
- Thread starter Tjakari
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Lateknight
Banned
I don't mind learning about military history the development of weapons and tactics can be interesting, my problem it with when dominates the narrative of a story.
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My favorite eras of history happen to be the High Middle Ages, down through the Renaissance, all the way to 1900.
Don't really care about the American Civil War cause I ain't Murrican.
Don't really care about the American Civil War cause I ain't Murrican.
Dammit, there is one but the Early Antiquity link which actually interests me is broken
I may still have it, lemme check.
It seems to work, tough., but if it doesn't for you, I can upload and send it.
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Nor am I, but I've been fascinated with it for over half a century, since taking out a library book by Sir Winston Churchill when I was 13.
I wouldn't say I'm totally uninterested in any historical period, but I find the Third Reich something of a turn off, ditto the SU and perhaps Russian history in general - just too **** depressing. I'm also only mildly into places east of the Indus or below the Sahara, but that may just reflect the sort of education I got, back in the fifties and early sixties.
Most of the pre-1700 stuff is from an alternate history standpoint effecting that era, and not later, pretty boring to me. I do find classical history very intriguing, the Romans most of all, but alternate history involving them doesn't interest me. I suppose it is due to ideological differences, lack of identifiable nation-states, and since unless if it is resulting in an industrial revolution I don't find which state controls which region very intriguing.
Myself as well. When equipment serves its roles and provides a tactical or operational change, then it is interesting and I like it. But when the purpose is to produce weaponry and equipment purely for the sake of itself that will have no effect on how the world progresses then it becomes less interesting. I especially find stories devoted to developing the same stuff that happened in our world but x number of years earlier a bit boring.
But maybe it is also due to niche subjects, there are areas of military technology I find more intriguing than others.
Myself as well. When equipment serves its roles and provides a tactical or operational change, then it is interesting and I like it. But when the purpose is to produce weaponry and equipment purely for the sake of itself that will have no effect on how the world progresses then it becomes less interesting. I especially find stories devoted to developing the same stuff that happened in our world but x number of years earlier a bit boring.
But maybe it is also due to niche subjects, there are areas of military technology I find more intriguing than others.
I find it very hard to bring my attention into everything that shaped the current nonsenses we enjoy with our current geopolitics, like for example global white primacy, westphalian nation-state system and the general fascistic disposition it brings, and persistent reductionism upon anything Islamic in popular mindspace. But I'm trying, if only because out of grudge and pure necessity.
I'm also weak on military history in general. Then again, it's not like I'm expert on anything, really.
I'm also weak on military history in general. Then again, it's not like I'm expert on anything, really.
For me personally it's mostly American history. As a non-American, pretty much all I know is "Americans kicked the Brits out, then committed genocide on the natives a couple of times, then they fought each other for the right to keep humans as property, then they conquered half of Mexico, and then just stood around looking for commies, the end".
I try to care about India and keep reading up on their history, but it reads almost like science fiction. Not the lasers and aliens part, I mean the fact all these figures and cultures seem just... a complete other world I know nothing about. I blame my education for this one.
Most of the site doesn't do much with Early Middle Ages. It's too bad, really, it's a fascinating period if you ask me. Very formative for the way modern world shaped up to be, and gives a lot of potential for really different timelines.
I try to care about India and keep reading up on their history, but it reads almost like science fiction. Not the lasers and aliens part, I mean the fact all these figures and cultures seem just... a complete other world I know nothing about. I blame my education for this one.
Most of the site doesn't do much with Early Middle Ages. It's too bad, really, it's a fascinating period if you ask me. Very formative for the way modern world shaped up to be, and gives a lot of potential for really different timelines.
The obvious ones that LSC said: pre-Columbian Americas, south and east Asia, sub-Saharan Africa.
As for "just don't care", the eighteenth century is, for whatever reason, a big turn off for me. I'm well aware how crucial the period is to the modern world, but I'm just not all that bothered.
My interest picks up again somewhat after 1850.
As for "just don't care", the eighteenth century is, for whatever reason, a big turn off for me. I'm well aware how crucial the period is to the modern world, but I'm just not all that bothered.
My interest picks up again somewhat after 1850.
It's not surprising at all, but probably still worth noting, how a "generalist" knowledge of history is often used to mean essentially "a decent knowledge of history of Western-Central Europe, its immediate surroundings and post-1600 North America".
I don't really have blind spots but totally blind regions.... Really, as someone who never studied history beyond high school, my knowledge is mostly limited to things I have learned out of interest.
I have discovered that I am fascinated with the history of the Americas between 1100 and 1770-ish, and thus a lot of the research I have done has been focused on that region/time period. I'm definitely much better with North America than South America, and within North America am better with the land that was to become Canada than the land that was to become the US and Mexico.
Through reading other people's TL's, I have discovered that I have almost no interest at all for PODs before 1100, and PODs between 1100 and 1450 only really interest me if they involve a surviving Vinland, or other earlier transoceanic contact (e.g. The Horse and the Jaguar). My favourite TLs are ones that have a POD before 1800 but also make the attempt to show what things will be like in the 20th century (with lots of butterflies).
I am particularly turned off by military history, as I have never had much understanding of it, and also have little interest in the AH exploits of OTL historical characters. I'm more interested in the new characters, new cultures, and new nations that result from the POD, so things only really get interesting for me about 50 years after any given POD.
I have discovered that I am fascinated with the history of the Americas between 1100 and 1770-ish, and thus a lot of the research I have done has been focused on that region/time period. I'm definitely much better with North America than South America, and within North America am better with the land that was to become Canada than the land that was to become the US and Mexico.
Through reading other people's TL's, I have discovered that I have almost no interest at all for PODs before 1100, and PODs between 1100 and 1450 only really interest me if they involve a surviving Vinland, or other earlier transoceanic contact (e.g. The Horse and the Jaguar). My favourite TLs are ones that have a POD before 1800 but also make the attempt to show what things will be like in the 20th century (with lots of butterflies).
I am particularly turned off by military history, as I have never had much understanding of it, and also have little interest in the AH exploits of OTL historical characters. I'm more interested in the new characters, new cultures, and new nations that result from the POD, so things only really get interesting for me about 50 years after any given POD.
Driftless
Donor
That's a very good point. I suppose we are (in-part) products of our envrionment.
The history that I learned in elementary & high school focused first on American history - colonial times through WW2, some on Wisconsin (my home state), and very broad brush study of Euro-centric world history. My one grandfather and the rest of my great-grand parents came from Norway, so that gave an extra direction to my interests. In hindsight, notably absent: Native American histories (North & South), Asia, Africa, and very limited study of the foundation cultures of the west (take your pick of culture). Once I got to college, the horizons expanded for both study and travel. That's probably fairly typical for many - not all - of the American posters & readers here. I imagine each of us has a different format that our education followed, but we tend to be more connected to the historical drivers on our own individual cultures.
That's the fascination of this site for me. I find that if an Alt timeline catches my interest, I go back and do some "homework" on the historic situations that provide the points of departure.
Aye, always a killer for me when a story starts turning into in-depth discussion of how some new tank has a barrel that's a few millimetres wider then the last one or whatever.
For me, I find it hard to get interested in anything pre-modern unless it's a particularly interesting POD.
I am not sure that someone already mentioned it (probably not), but one of the blind spots for majority of this forum members is the history of the Mongol World Empire and it's successors.
That is quite intriguing as it was one of the largest Empires in the history of the humankind and it was definitely the most spectacular conquest made by quite an insignificant group of people.
And hence it certainly deserves some attention.
I met a lot of posts (and I mean A LOT) about different periods and different regions which were FAR more knowledgeable than my own.
But during 3 years on this forum I read only one descent post on the Mongol imperial and post-imperial history.
Would you please explain me why is that so?
Is it dull? Is it depressing? Is it not interesting? Why so?
From all I know there are a lot of excellent books on the subject in English...
p.s. Please do not consider the above as the boast of mine or something.
On any Russian-speaking forum there are a lot of people who are much better than me on the Mongol history.
That is quite intriguing as it was one of the largest Empires in the history of the humankind and it was definitely the most spectacular conquest made by quite an insignificant group of people.
And hence it certainly deserves some attention.
I met a lot of posts (and I mean A LOT) about different periods and different regions which were FAR more knowledgeable than my own.
But during 3 years on this forum I read only one descent post on the Mongol imperial and post-imperial history.
Would you please explain me why is that so?
Is it dull? Is it depressing? Is it not interesting? Why so?
From all I know there are a lot of excellent books on the subject in English...
p.s. Please do not consider the above as the boast of mine or something.
On any Russian-speaking forum there are a lot of people who are much better than me on the Mongol history.
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Grey Wolf
Donor
I don't really think I have one. I have always been a modular sort of person, even in my historical reading as a teenager, then I did a modular degree that covered King Alfred to Napoleon, and ancient philosophy to boot.
Now I tend to focus on something, get videos and info on it for a few weeks, then move on.
Over time I have been interested in most things enough to study them for a while.
Best Regards
Grey Wolf