Lent Update: I’m terrible at lent. However, most of the time it’s not purposeful. Most of the time. There have been several times when people have offered me candy and I accept it out of instinct. Other times I just want a Red Vine… Like when your step-parental units leave a huge container of it on your counter when a group of people is over. Thanks for supporting my lent mom & pop.
Now a Rant. I listen to a lot of podcasts. Typically if I learned something new, it’s from a podcast. I’m telling you this so maybe, one day in the future, I can stop saying “so I was listening to this podcast and…” and just drop a knowledge bomb on you.
Anyways, I was listening to the Podcast Radio Lab, a very interesting scientific journalistic podcast. The topic of conversation was Beethoven. I know this doesn’t sound very scientific but they were discussing the difference between how Beethoven marked the tempo of his songs (fast) and how they’re often played (slow).
The podcast was very interesting. Though it made me thing of something that I often notice, and am frustrated by. That is our culture’s tendency to re-write history based on the culture, beliefs and ideologies of today. In this episode they were philosophizing as to why Beethoven made the tempo’s what he did. Perhaps his metronome was broken. Perhaps because he was deaf and was replaying the music in his mind his understanding of the tempo was skewed. Don’t get me wrong these are interesting theories, they are fun to think about, but that’s all they are, theories. These possibilities are not something we should look back to history and say “Beethoven was wrong, We were right! We figured out the right way to play his symphony. Silly Beethoven.” The Radio Lab hosts were not saying any of this, this is just where my mind went.
I feel like I see this a lot in our culture. We read into the motives of the past based on shotty scholarship, lazy research and worst case personal opinion. Somehow because we’re several hundreds even thousands of years in the future we feel we understand the culture better than those who actually lived it. Can we really be so naive to think this way? Often it seems like we are. Even someone studying my life; what I wrote, What I filmed could not fully understand my motive for every action. Half the time I’m figuring it out as I go along. I’m sure there would be several discussions as to why I did what I did or said what I said. Though, in the end if I didn’t tell anyone why I did it or why I said it, it’s all theory.
I’m not saying don’t study. I’m not saying don’t ask questions. I think both are vitally important. I guess what I’m saying is don’t pass of theories as the standard for truth. Let them be theories. Discuss them, research them and if there is a way to confirm them 100% great! If not, be honest with your current understanding.
Now I have to imagine I have done this. I’m sure I’ve looked back in the past and pasted my motives on someone or something and taught it as fact. Perhaps that’s why it bugs me so much because I see it in myself and it’s something I want to purge from my system. Perhaps it’s even lent worthy.
People say Hindsight is 20/20 and when it comes to ourselves that’s probably true because we know ourselves motives and all. But is Hindsight 20/20 when it comes to others? I don’t think so. But perhaps I’m presuming to much…
Bryce
