issue120[Jet小组]第十四次作业

ellefrancaiUID: 2449693

TOPIC: ISSUE120 - "So much is new and complex today that looking back for an understanding of the past provides little guidance for living in the present."
WORDS: 586          TIME: 00:45:00          DATE: 2008-3-2 14:54:39

The assertion presented above said looking back for an understanding of the past provides little guidance for living in the present since it is so new and complex today, which could hardly make me agree with. It is certain that things has changed a lot compared with those of past, however, in my point of view,  looking back to the past can enrich us and helps us move on in such a new and complex days.

As known to all, people are able to gain lessons and experiences by looking backing to the way we passed therefore it makes us to see much more clearly beyond the world today. Nobel, the famous and achieved scientist, has invented dynamics which greatly enhanced the power of arms so that the cold-arm era shifted into an era that bombs and guns are widely used in wars. Even Nobel himself did not expect that he helped people write a new chapter of wars, which is much more cruel and bloody because of his invention. However, people learned a lesson from it, thus, there appears the Nobel Prize of Peace to respect who make great contribution of world peace and people are signing treaties and laws in order to warn others of the potential negative effects that a new fruit of science may bring remembering what happened in the past.

Moreover, no new skills and technologies can be brought out without the requisite of the basis of theories and skills of the past. What I mean is, it is the things existed in the past makes this new and complex world today possible. For example, the new-media technology are thriving all over the world nowadays and no matter of what kind of new media appears, such as P2P technology, IPTV, RSS etc., none of them could exist without the basis of television and internet technology. What's more, P2P and IPTV is just a kind of mixture of television and world-wide computer networks.

However, while we are evaluate the significance of looking back for an understanding of the past, we should also convince if we regard the past too much it will bring us nothing but shortsighted and vague future. For instance, China used to be one of the strongest countries in the world and things changed since Qing Dynasty because a policy took into effort by the emperor at that time, which close the country and make it isolated to the outside world. And people at that time are always looking back to the fascinating history and living in the past with no consideration of the real world and current condition of other countries. This policy brought a long period of humiliating and bloody history of China, during which while other countries are using guns and bombs for war, Chinese are still using swords and lose almost every battle during that time. And that is why Deng Xiaopin designed the opening-up and reform policy after the People's Republic of China was founded.

In sum, no matter how modern and complex the world changed into today or even in the future, people should always looking back for an understand of the things happened in the past, especial those bad things and history full of tears and bloods since they will reach people lessons and stimulate them to move into the right direction. Meanwhile, people should easily forget the fabulous parts of the past since it will make people concern too much about them and neglect what is happening in the real world.