The idea has been lurking in the recesses of my mind for multitudinous epochs now, but it’s just at this moment that I shall come out and state it. I have no interest in human history in general. Walking around the Valle dei Templi yesterday sealed the idea in stone. Fossilized it, even, and given the multitudinous fossils embedded in the once sunken remains of rock near Agrigento, it’s an apt analogy.
What most would term history in the “educational sense” has little to offer me. Mostly my disinterest revolves around the “great achievements” of humanity. In contrast, geological and astronomical history do still have something to offer to my weary mind and I will likely be found on one of my many deathbeds perusing various tomes concerning those topics. The overall achievement of our species seems diminished in contrast to their grandeur. Or at least to their SPAN.
Thus, it’s the general history of the deeds of mankind that has not held my interest for generations now. Possibly for epochs. Millennia.
The walk through Valle dei Templi did turn my mind to more narrow bands of history that do tug at me, and in some ways, very forcefully. I’m deeply invested in the history of music - very much a deed of mankind, I realize, but a very SPECIFIC one. I’m willing to invest myself in the history of certain technologies, and especially the history of computation. I can read about the history of computation for generations on end, or even epochs on end, or millennia and never tire.
Therefore, as I’ve scribed before, as I merge with the age of the decrepit and frail of body and mind, I narrow my range of interests to dive deeper into the ones that are important.
One reason why general history may not be of interest to me any longer (was it ever? - possibly) is that it is a history of the victor. Our lovely ancestors had the tendency to gouge from the earth itself any trace of the ones they conquered, leaving only their story for future folk to ponder over, as if it was the only tale to be told. This CONCEPT, or shall I be so bold as say PRINCIPLE, bothers me. (Has it always? - possibly) - And this is una desvía from the theme at hand, though I am wont to desviar, fuck um.
It’s true that the history of music has also had its “victors” and “downtrodden”, but much more has been recorded to posterity, especially in the age of modernity (meaning post 1885 or so - of which I’m even more interested than in music in general). There is less bias towards forms that have only appealed to the Lowest Common Denominator or that have only appealed to the posh.
Bulbous Lowest Common Denominator.
Bulbous Posh.
In the end, our adventure amongst the temples was rewarding, because I was reminded of some of the things that I do wish to explore in depth. And, besides, I am a fan of long walks amongst whatever type of ruination, simply because the decay of ancient cities into a more natural state - that of higher entropy - always brings a slight smile of satisfaction to my scowling mug.
