History smooshes stuff

E65: Eras don't always have clear start and end dates

History is an example of compression

“What hit me hardest was the line about imagining how textbooks of the future will offer a few sentences summing up this pandemic. It will perform an act of compression that erases the pain, suffering, and uncertainty of that time.” UTexas-Austin Prof. Cam Houser reflected back after reading my draft. It is amazing what others glean within the spaces between our words.

I’d been searching for a metaphor that explained the way history condenses events and time. My keynote audience included those running libraries in Ontario. “Books,” I thought, “books will be a way to explain this concept. History books in particular.” I invited them to think back to the number of pages or paragraphs they’d read in their elementary school history class describing the Renaissance Era, the plague in 1500 in Northern Italy, or the Hundred Years’ War.

“History smooshes stuff,” I continued leaning into a very academic expression. Our history books do not go into detail describing the daily indecisions, contentious conversations between neighbours, and contradictory positions between team members during these Covid and lockdown tumultuous times. Generations later we get to read a sanitized recollection of the key points recorded. The few lines gloss over the daily lived life experience during those events. Our history tests usually include questions such as “When did the Second World War start and end?” “What is the date of the French Revolution?” We are left feeling that these bygone eras had a clear-cut start and end date. But realistically, we understand that many of the emotions and sentiments that create the conditions for major change gradually seep into existence. It would take time before a new normal took hold.

This thought byte is another part of the longer essay that I am writing on the Future of Work. Does it intrigue you? What other questions does it raise for you? How do you rationalize this reality?

This can be your homework this week too. Think back to your hours of history class, flopped in your seat, trying to figure out which came first US Independence or the French Revolution - and the number of chapters or paragraphs that collapsed multi-decade events such as:

• The search for spices and the colonization of Asia

• The exploration and journey of Christopher Columbus in the Santa Maria across the Atlantic

• The expansion of the railway network across Europe, Asia, and Africa

Tribe Tilt spans the globe. What is a local equivalent of a multi-year event in your geographic region?

(Historians are excluded as you probably read four or more books, newspapers and more on each of these topics, as you do research for your dissertations.)

The essays in this series: E64: Seep into Existence, E65: History Smooshes Stuff, E66: Becoming, E78: Mind the Gap (essay), E123: A Changing World Order

---

A lump of coal or a diamond in the making?

As we come into the closing weeks of 2022 many of us will be setting goals, reviewing our progress in 2022, and debating if we are eligible for a lump of coal or some other goodies. It can be instinctive to observe the gap - what is still left to be done. Instead, I invite you to accept that lump of coal as a step toward your diamond of 2023.

You may find this yearend review process an interesting read from Chris Cordry, LMFT :

I’ve Done Tim Ferriss’s Past Year Review for 5 Years. Here Are 22 Lessons I Learned

---

Each week we welcome new members to our growing Tribe Tilt. This week they include two educators and a therapist. So many of us engaged in last week’s conversation about the technologies that have made a major impact on us. The comments are a varied and fun read. We are a group that believes we can make a difference to the people and places that are precious to us - that we have hope and agency in our lives.

Stay healthy. From there all else becomes possible. See you next week.
Karena

Would you like to join our Tribe Tilt?

---