求回拍 Issue120

芷琳UID: 2682149

120. "So much is new and complex today that looking back for an understanding of the past provides little guidance for living in the present."

The speaker asserts that understanding of the past provides little guidance for living in the present due to enormous new and complex things today. While I concede that immense changing has happened today, however, the past is still of much value in our present living.

Indeed, our society has changed and progressed largely no matter in working or in living, which has been generating many new and complex objects. Sometimes, it is entirely possible to happen that many old methods or items are not suit any longer. Just like that most of us sending emails to exchange messages or emotion instead of writing letters or like that people now get most information or search the answers to the questions by surfing the internet rather than going to libraries. In two of above illustration, both Email and internet are new items which symbolized present living style-efficient and effective.

However, many eternal things which are never changed do exist. People can produce new technologies to change world, but cannot alter individuals personalities. Chinese traditional virtue is a good example. In past, our ancestors put looking after parents in the first place. In present society, people still emphasis the necessity of respecting and supporting parents. These virtue is never modified and the past stories and anecdotes always make us understand values more easily, and impel us to act with good manners. For these matter, comprehending of the past still provides many reference for us .

Moreover, even though many things have changed and many new things have sprung up, in my view, it is still essential to acquaint us with precedent. It can supply many references to today’s working and living methods, thereby helping us avoid repeating mistakes. As we all know, most of research and invention is basis on the precedent. As Newton said if I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. So when acting an experiment, because informed that it could generate explosion by mingling a certain kind of acid and metal, even if we utilize a kind of new apparatus, we would still avoid the accidents as far as possible. In this case, because of the past experience, we can carry out our tasks safer and more easily.

In addition, perhaps we now have more advanced technologies to tangle problems, but our ancestors’ spiritual when overcoming hardship is always encouraged and worth to learn. And by learning these spiritual, we can be stronger in our fighting road, which can help us keep optimistic mood confronted the difficulties and acquire success eventually. Take the German nation for example. After war I and war II, the German people looking back their faults in the war and repent their sins, which make them settle down into wars any longer and become such a prosperous country now. Subsequently, the past is still of much value.

In conclusion, there are still many things that do not change and will never alter, which always exerts profound influence on our living. Besides, even if many new things have generated, the past experience is still of much value. Hence, looking back to understand the past is essential and beneficial.