Forerunners, Fluidity of Concepts & Importance of Information
Hi and Welcome to the A & J PEI Treasures E Jean Simpson Author Blog Post and Podcast. I’m your host, Jean coming to you from the beautiful Province of Prince Edward Island, Canada!! The blog post and podcast is an opinion piece and only reflects this author’s opinion and not that of any other entity. I hold no designations in politics, economics or medicine. I am retired from the mental health field. I am a humanitarian and speak from that viewpoint only. Whether you agree with me or not, at least I hope it makes you think. This week I look at blogs, podcasts and concepts of disinformation and misinformation. Are they relevant? I explore it from my own perspective of their historical relevance. If you want to find out more, then stay tuned…!
I have seen blogs exploring the relevance of blogs. I found the concept interesting. At the same time, it made me want to consider it from a historical perspective. You see from a historical perspective, blogs are not exactly as new as they seem and if my logic is correct, they could have more future impacts than their writers could have foreseen. First, you must consider that people have been journaling since ancient China and ancient Arabia and before, at least in the written form https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/08/ma.... There have been journals and diaries since written word, though at first, mostly written by famous rich people, religious groups and also by ladies and gentlemen of court. Later as it became more accessible and as that happened there were more of them. Famously, there was the Diary of Anne Frank who died in a concentration camp during the Second World War. Her father found her work and made it available. Her Diary has been, at least when I was in school, explored by kids as part of the accepted reading https://www.ushmm.org/collections/bib... . If one considers that often daily life was depicted in many of these writing forms, then if we look at cave drawings, does that not also show that people have been sharing their stories for as long as man could hold an implement to put their reality down on a surface so people could see it? So, we can go with the concept that putting down one’s thoughts, ideas, concepts and daily life has been around as long as humans have been able to think and record in any possible form.
Now as far as journals and diaries go, there are different uses for the two…whereas blog posts and podcasts can be used for the information that would come from either type. Now they are divided into genres to make things easier for people to find the type they are interested in. In the article, https://feltmagnet.com/drawing/Diary-... they state: “A diary is a book to record events as they happen. A journal is a book used to explore ideas that take shape.” Reading further into their descriptions, I see the topics related to many different blogs that are out there (you can see them in the article I link to above). Of course the podcast is the verbally delivered method of doing the same thing. We now have records of people who have survived the holocaust and soldiers from the WW recorded so that we keep their memories available. This was a precursor to podcasting. It has long been understood that the old journals and diaries in bygone days are now historically important documents as are the recordings to preserve history. Many give us a glimpse of the social and political discourse and thoughts of the time. As Sir Walter Scott is credited (also in the article) with saying, “What is a diary as a rule? A document useful to the person who keeps it. Dull to the contemporary who reads it and invaluable to the student, centuries afterwards, who treasures it.”
So, it seems that the value of the diary, journal, blog post, podcast may not be its immediate value in some cases, but in its potential value as a historical document to future generations. This is an interesting theoretical concept that gives a background and an idea of the importance of information recorded at the time of events. There is also the problem that goes with it. It is that people only see the viewpoint of the particular person and this may give a slanted view. It goes with the time that it was written and often people of importance would write from the viewpoint of their peers…very much like today. To historians, the diary of Samuel Pepys', (Diary (1660-1669)) gives a glimpse into Britain during the time of the Reformation and Great Fire of London. It is a historically important document now https://www.researchgate.net/publicat.... So, there is historical value to these documents that people had written centuries ago. Historians recognize that often, in the past, the historical information gives the viewpoints that were accepted at the time by the people of the time. There are diaries that were written during the Civil War and depending on which side, there are different viewpoints. The ability to look at the various viewpoints can provide history and modern student alike with a view of different sides of the issues of the time. It can also clarify some things.
These thoughts bring us to the idea that journals and diaries, and even walls of pyramids and earlier cave drawings might have served some purposes that could be historically relevant. People have realized this for some time. What has become more evident in recent history is that some of it might be misinformation and/or disinformation or propaganda as they also call it. Study of the WW’s has recognized this for quite some time by seeing both sides of the propaganda during the war and studying documents. It also occurred in ancient Egypt and one of the better known historic cases is that of the battle of Kadesh and Ramses’s take on it https://www.ingeniahistory.com/post/t.... Until historians looked at more sources, it was believed that he had a huge win against the Hittites; however, after looking at more sources, it is thought to be a draw at best. There is still some controversy over this. This shows the importance of examining different sources of information. It has resulted in such things as British Historians taking a different look at Tudor History, though some of it is through modern eyes which also can muddy the waters. I remember as a child, there is a painting that was agreed to be of Lady Jane Grey (nine days Queen), and more lately, they have changed their minds and think it is Katherine Parr. This too may change if more information reveals something else. So, not only are diaries and journals important to the understanding of history, but also helps us to trace where we have been and where we want to go. History can change as facts are revealed...including finding Richard III in the car park. Sometimes history and new information that is found can cause more controversy and sometimes resolves it.
I had seen something not long ago. It was a picture of a carved sow with people feeding from it, and it opened my eyes to the extent of misinformation and disinformation, though it has come under different names such as propaganda as well. I never really thought about it much, but did have a peripheral understanding that there was much of this going on during the World War II and it caused a lot of deaths. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/op.... It did not occur to me that they had various forms of it over time until I saw a picture and wondered about it. Though I know that there were some forms of it around for a long time, I had not thought about the extent of it. It never occurred to me that it would be carved in stone from the 13th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judensau discusses these forms of misinformation. The stone carved sow was part of a church and a definite proof of misinformation from the 13th Century in Europe. The thing that made this carved item stranger is the fact that it was of a sow and Jewish people drinking from it. This situation is not likely as both Jews and Muslim people tend to avoid pork. Why did I find all this information? I had wondered why a picture was tagged that it might be a ‘sensitive topic’. I didn’t know about this particular form of work and had actually thought it would have made more sense for it to have been a wolf that they were feeding from because of the association with Remus and Romulus and the myth of the founding of Rome. https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk... . Then I got more curious and wanted to know why it might be shown as potentially sensitive as Roman mythology didn’t seem to me anything that sensitive. So, for those who wonder why it might be offensive, now you know and for those who are interested in the form of misinformation, now you know. There is no shame in not knowing something. You can always educate yourself. I ended up doing so. Mostly it is curiosity that drives me to find out why something is or isn’t seen as appropriate when I don’t know.
So, when we look at misinformation, disinformation, journals, diaries blog posts and podcasts as they impact upon present day, we can see that there are potential uses for these far beyond the actual current time. There are also potential pitfalls as misinformation has the ability to carry on negative information well into the future. These things can still create harm in the future as well. It also goes far beyond the actual life of the author and of the forum. It shows an ever changing and ever evolving landscape of ideas, concepts, and movement in the world. It shows an ever evolving understanding of ourselves and of humanity and it shows the potential for misunderstanding that can be created with misinformation/disinformation. I only hope that the movement continues to be forward in nature and we learn from the leaders who speak for tolerance, compassion, care and human dignity. We need to understand the importance of our thinking, the importance of where we’ve been and decide where we want our world to go. We can see the mistakes made by various figures over time. I hope that we use it as a learning experience and tool to work toward moving forward with greater wisdom. Whether you agree with me or not, I hope I made you think. Thanks for listening to my podcast and/or reading my blog post and thanks for your interest in A & J PEI Treasures! Keep watching because we’re always working on something. Thank you!
The podcast that matches this blog post can be found on Anchor FM: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures/...
Blog Posts are available on
WordPress: https://aandjpeitreasures.wordpress.com/ and
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Podcast are available on:
Anchor FM in a variety of formats: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures
iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-e-...
Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/e-... name a few
All my e-books can be found on:
Smashwords (my Affiliate link): https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
You can also find us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EJS08026749
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5zp...
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/ej2466
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/e-j-s-151a...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewAandJP...
E. Jean Simpson
I have seen blogs exploring the relevance of blogs. I found the concept interesting. At the same time, it made me want to consider it from a historical perspective. You see from a historical perspective, blogs are not exactly as new as they seem and if my logic is correct, they could have more future impacts than their writers could have foreseen. First, you must consider that people have been journaling since ancient China and ancient Arabia and before, at least in the written form https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/08/ma.... There have been journals and diaries since written word, though at first, mostly written by famous rich people, religious groups and also by ladies and gentlemen of court. Later as it became more accessible and as that happened there were more of them. Famously, there was the Diary of Anne Frank who died in a concentration camp during the Second World War. Her father found her work and made it available. Her Diary has been, at least when I was in school, explored by kids as part of the accepted reading https://www.ushmm.org/collections/bib... . If one considers that often daily life was depicted in many of these writing forms, then if we look at cave drawings, does that not also show that people have been sharing their stories for as long as man could hold an implement to put their reality down on a surface so people could see it? So, we can go with the concept that putting down one’s thoughts, ideas, concepts and daily life has been around as long as humans have been able to think and record in any possible form.
Now as far as journals and diaries go, there are different uses for the two…whereas blog posts and podcasts can be used for the information that would come from either type. Now they are divided into genres to make things easier for people to find the type they are interested in. In the article, https://feltmagnet.com/drawing/Diary-... they state: “A diary is a book to record events as they happen. A journal is a book used to explore ideas that take shape.” Reading further into their descriptions, I see the topics related to many different blogs that are out there (you can see them in the article I link to above). Of course the podcast is the verbally delivered method of doing the same thing. We now have records of people who have survived the holocaust and soldiers from the WW recorded so that we keep their memories available. This was a precursor to podcasting. It has long been understood that the old journals and diaries in bygone days are now historically important documents as are the recordings to preserve history. Many give us a glimpse of the social and political discourse and thoughts of the time. As Sir Walter Scott is credited (also in the article) with saying, “What is a diary as a rule? A document useful to the person who keeps it. Dull to the contemporary who reads it and invaluable to the student, centuries afterwards, who treasures it.”
So, it seems that the value of the diary, journal, blog post, podcast may not be its immediate value in some cases, but in its potential value as a historical document to future generations. This is an interesting theoretical concept that gives a background and an idea of the importance of information recorded at the time of events. There is also the problem that goes with it. It is that people only see the viewpoint of the particular person and this may give a slanted view. It goes with the time that it was written and often people of importance would write from the viewpoint of their peers…very much like today. To historians, the diary of Samuel Pepys', (Diary (1660-1669)) gives a glimpse into Britain during the time of the Reformation and Great Fire of London. It is a historically important document now https://www.researchgate.net/publicat.... So, there is historical value to these documents that people had written centuries ago. Historians recognize that often, in the past, the historical information gives the viewpoints that were accepted at the time by the people of the time. There are diaries that were written during the Civil War and depending on which side, there are different viewpoints. The ability to look at the various viewpoints can provide history and modern student alike with a view of different sides of the issues of the time. It can also clarify some things.
These thoughts bring us to the idea that journals and diaries, and even walls of pyramids and earlier cave drawings might have served some purposes that could be historically relevant. People have realized this for some time. What has become more evident in recent history is that some of it might be misinformation and/or disinformation or propaganda as they also call it. Study of the WW’s has recognized this for quite some time by seeing both sides of the propaganda during the war and studying documents. It also occurred in ancient Egypt and one of the better known historic cases is that of the battle of Kadesh and Ramses’s take on it https://www.ingeniahistory.com/post/t.... Until historians looked at more sources, it was believed that he had a huge win against the Hittites; however, after looking at more sources, it is thought to be a draw at best. There is still some controversy over this. This shows the importance of examining different sources of information. It has resulted in such things as British Historians taking a different look at Tudor History, though some of it is through modern eyes which also can muddy the waters. I remember as a child, there is a painting that was agreed to be of Lady Jane Grey (nine days Queen), and more lately, they have changed their minds and think it is Katherine Parr. This too may change if more information reveals something else. So, not only are diaries and journals important to the understanding of history, but also helps us to trace where we have been and where we want to go. History can change as facts are revealed...including finding Richard III in the car park. Sometimes history and new information that is found can cause more controversy and sometimes resolves it.
I had seen something not long ago. It was a picture of a carved sow with people feeding from it, and it opened my eyes to the extent of misinformation and disinformation, though it has come under different names such as propaganda as well. I never really thought about it much, but did have a peripheral understanding that there was much of this going on during the World War II and it caused a lot of deaths. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/op.... It did not occur to me that they had various forms of it over time until I saw a picture and wondered about it. Though I know that there were some forms of it around for a long time, I had not thought about the extent of it. It never occurred to me that it would be carved in stone from the 13th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judensau discusses these forms of misinformation. The stone carved sow was part of a church and a definite proof of misinformation from the 13th Century in Europe. The thing that made this carved item stranger is the fact that it was of a sow and Jewish people drinking from it. This situation is not likely as both Jews and Muslim people tend to avoid pork. Why did I find all this information? I had wondered why a picture was tagged that it might be a ‘sensitive topic’. I didn’t know about this particular form of work and had actually thought it would have made more sense for it to have been a wolf that they were feeding from because of the association with Remus and Romulus and the myth of the founding of Rome. https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk... . Then I got more curious and wanted to know why it might be shown as potentially sensitive as Roman mythology didn’t seem to me anything that sensitive. So, for those who wonder why it might be offensive, now you know and for those who are interested in the form of misinformation, now you know. There is no shame in not knowing something. You can always educate yourself. I ended up doing so. Mostly it is curiosity that drives me to find out why something is or isn’t seen as appropriate when I don’t know.
So, when we look at misinformation, disinformation, journals, diaries blog posts and podcasts as they impact upon present day, we can see that there are potential uses for these far beyond the actual current time. There are also potential pitfalls as misinformation has the ability to carry on negative information well into the future. These things can still create harm in the future as well. It also goes far beyond the actual life of the author and of the forum. It shows an ever changing and ever evolving landscape of ideas, concepts, and movement in the world. It shows an ever evolving understanding of ourselves and of humanity and it shows the potential for misunderstanding that can be created with misinformation/disinformation. I only hope that the movement continues to be forward in nature and we learn from the leaders who speak for tolerance, compassion, care and human dignity. We need to understand the importance of our thinking, the importance of where we’ve been and decide where we want our world to go. We can see the mistakes made by various figures over time. I hope that we use it as a learning experience and tool to work toward moving forward with greater wisdom. Whether you agree with me or not, I hope I made you think. Thanks for listening to my podcast and/or reading my blog post and thanks for your interest in A & J PEI Treasures! Keep watching because we’re always working on something. Thank you!
The podcast that matches this blog post can be found on Anchor FM: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures/...
Blog Posts are available on
WordPress: https://aandjpeitreasures.wordpress.com/ and
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Podcast are available on:
Anchor FM in a variety of formats: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures
iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-e-...
Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/e-... name a few
All my e-books can be found on:
Smashwords (my Affiliate link): https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
You can also find us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EJS08026749
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5zp...
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/ej2466
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/e-j-s-151a...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewAandJP...
E. Jean Simpson
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A & J PEI Treasures/E Jean Simpson, BEd, BA, MA
A & J PEI Treasures is located on Prince Edward Island, Canada. We are a husband and wife team and our companion animals. There are a number of things that drew us to the Island…one of which was the n
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