Dear Humans,

One of the best things about getting older is that you get to watch documentaries about events that happened during your lifetime. And then you think back on your own memories of these events and compare it to the historical record and you think, “My memory of this is completely wrong!” And, “Did we really dress like that?”

Because we’re just one set of eyes among billions. That doesn’t mean our own experience is worthless. I remember what it felt like to sit in my dorm room and watch news coverage on September 11, 2001, and that’s a valid experience. But it’s only meaningful if I connect it to the experiences of other people in other places. And that’s what history–the combination of many perspectives of the past–allows us to do.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt