History v/s Science - Page 6

Originally posted by: Summer3

Which subject you prefer is a matter of interest, inclination and aptitude Sometimes we need to study a subject even if we do not like it , because of academic requirements in career selection.

Yes History is social science and deals with the past, The present will be history tomorrow. Because history tends to repeat itself we can gather useful information and data about past incidents, how and why countries go to war and the politics, culture, arts etc. Those studying law often need to study History. History is a useful tool but by itself it is incomplete as we need to study and understand the behavioural patterns of humans too. This is where science comes in.

Science is more about understanding everything in nature and the world, and also about going further in discovering and inventing new things. Without science we would be still be walking or riding horses instead of driving and flying.

Necessity is the mother of inventions but we do need a politically stable climate to carry out scientific research.

Originally posted by: anahita.taanu

there is nothing 2 understand in history! u just need 2 mug it up actually! sienece needs sum understanding... ratta will not help there... but if 1 asks a more relevant suvbject for students.. it must be scienece.. bcauze if u dont study history u lose sum but if u dont study scienece u loose more! and in terms of stgudents chice..most of the time its science over history!

the most of history ppl noe.. i mean the freedom sturggle and stuff.. but what will we do if we find sum hidden stuff ins oil.. we cn just show off we got sum.. u cnt make sumthing huge out of it... there is no use.. history is history.. why 2 repeat it.. science leads 2 sum development!

I believe you are gravely mistaken in thinking that there is nothing to know in history and nothing to lose if you don't know history.

I'll take the Indian freedom movement as an example, because I know that unfortunately it is beaten to death in schools in a very dry, fact driven, soulless format.

What is the history of the Indian freedom movement? A lot of students will probably regurgitate names like Gandhi, Nehru, Bhagat Singh, Mangal Pandey, events like the Dandi March, Jalianwallah bagh massacre, dates like 15^th August 1947. That's not history, that's just a spreadsheet of people, places, events and dates. Just data, not history. It is also completely worthless data to boot, if you really can't put it in context, understand what it means, find value in it, feel informed and enriched due to it. History is what takes all that meaningless data and gives it context and value.

15^th August is a meaningless, worthless date like any other of the 365 days in a year unless we know what independence day mean and why we value independence. History teaches us why we should be grateful for our freedom. You can forget that 15^th August is independence day or confuse it with 26^th January our Republic Day. Failing to mug it might get you points docked in an exam and some laughing at from people. But if you know what those days mean, why they took place, why we celebrate them, that knowledge is more important. And only learning history can give us that. Otherwise any machine can spit out people, places, events and dates and pass a history exam.

What do we lose if we don't know history? By just erasing the history of our freedom movement - We lose the value of freedom. We lose gratitude that we have freedom. We lose what it means to be Indian versus being British or Portuguese or Dutch. We could care less who our government was and who our nation belongs to. We wouldn't know how free people can become slaves and how slaves can become free people. By erasing the history of mankind, we pretty much wipe out every iota of meaning from our existence.

Now I won't say history is great. Its not more important than science or any other subject we learn in school. It definitely can be dry and dull and difficult to keep track of. History probably won't even get you a sexy career that math or science might. Life might be more successful if you focused more on math and science. But don't completely dismiss history. It is still of equal value. At least try to learn and understand history, if not of the world, of your country and people. On the surface it might seem to add nothing to your life, but over time it does add a lot of value to your life as you make history of your own.

By the way forget history or science? What does the new generation have against language? Do they hate it so much that they seek to destroy it? Perhaps the apocalypse of 2012 will be the total annihilation of language and communication as we know it. WWATLD (that's a sentence of the future – decipher it).

Originally posted by: angie.4u

While the discussion happens to be centred around History and Science , it is the commerce stream which is the hot favourite these days!!!

Originally posted by: Beyond_the_Veil

With the power of the media and advertising now-a-days, it's not really surprising to see why. Moreover, BBA and MBA has more practical application in the modern world than a subject like history.

Originally posted by: anahita.taanu

^see i dont say i dont understand sst or science but it burdens me alot! its not that i need 2 give exams once or twice a year but i have exams every monday u dont even have the quality time.. its like u dont have time 2 study everything in a 7 day break and its not just the subject u need 2 study in those days but the homework the revision everything is required and its not that easy! and yes i m in 7th!

Personally, I don't think it is only exams that makes subjects like history loathed and tedious. A good part of it is quality of teachers and teaching methods.

Science is natural and exists all the time. Students can experience and observe science in daily life. The lab format makes science hands on and practical as well. So sometimes even if the teacher is not the best the ability to connect to science and hands on experience makes students prefer it.

History on the other hand is in the past. It is difficult to experience it, relate to it or experience it in a hands on practical way. So history teachers have to be creative and bring the subject alive for students to get it. Unfortunately, very few teachers have that ability to bring subjects alive or even if they do the system does not allow much room for creativity. That is why history is often reduced to just cramming dates and events to pass exams and cramming is never fun.

I hated history till I was in eight standard. We had been tortured with Shivaji and Indian freedom so much that I wanted to travel in time and shoot them all and get rid of history torture. It all changed when we got the most amazing teacher in eight. She was a story teller, the most captivating story teller who could transform a class of teenagers into little kids intently engrossed in history like its their most favorite bed time story. Even the class trouble makers and the bully boys would just sit and listen to her narrate history. Ever since then me and many other students who were in that class absolutely fell in love with history. Who does not enjoy a class where you sit and listen to the most fun stories and exams were nothing but retelling those fun stories again.

In the USA history is a lot more hands on. Students watch historic films, read historic books or do reenactments. It is not always exams but also a lot of presentations and projects and collages to capture time periods, events, cultures etc. This makes history a lot more tangible, experiential and hands on for students. Once the cramming and fact memorization is removed, the subject automatically appeals. Such methods are difficult in India because of large classrooms and limited budgets. So unfortunately unless we get the great storytellers history might remain dull and tedious.

Originally posted by: -Murphy369-

I hope Rehan I could make myself clear. Will you take like to take side of any one subject😳
By the way @bold, I agree with you. Scoring poor marks can't be the reason of hating or disliking a subject.

I 've always loved history . I remember going through the entire history text book as soon as we got it. It ws more like a story book and those days i simply enjoyed reading stories 😆 Amar Chitra kathas were my favourite then.