Some people think that studying history is a waste of time while others think it is essential to learn history. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
People have different views about the outcomes of learning history. Although some people argue that studying history has nothing to offer and is a waste of time, others opine that studying history has a great prospect for discovering our past and using the wisdom to shape our future. This essay investigates both views but I am personally inclined to the latter opinion.
On the one hand, according to a group of people, learning history is insignificant and a waste of time and energy. In addition, they consider learning technology and science brings immense benefits to the humankind and the knowledge could be correlated to the future development. History, on the contrary, is difficult to apply in daily life. For instance, science students can experiment and actually build helpful tools, devices and this can lead to a magnificent future invention. Pupils with history major are imposed to memorize dates and events from the past, and perhaps have little to do with our daily life.
But this is not the whole picture. Learning history not only tells us about past events, it actually prepares us for the future. How can we avoid a largescale catastrophe if we do not know why it happened in the first place and what went wrong to curb it?
In the 19th century, for example, Ireland suffered the blight of potatoes, known as the Irish Potato Famine, and it happened because Irish was totally dependent on potatoes. Had they plant another crop, this could have been avoided. However, this unpleasant history has taught the human being a great lesson – to cultivate a wide diversity of crops. Another reason urges people to learn history is that the knowledge instils good characteristics and foster patriotism among the youth.
In conclusion, people learn both from their success and failure and to build a prosperous nation, we must learn from our history. Without the knowledge of history, scientific discoveries cannot bring a wide range of advantages.