Issue120 [Jet小姐]第十四次作业

dreamstringUID: 2389201

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: 529          TIME: 00:45:00          DATE: 2008-3-2 13:01:51

I agree with the speaker, to some extent, that in this period, the society has been becoming new and complex. Nevertheless, at the same time, we contemporaries should not overlook the functions of the past. Without study of the past, there would not be modern societies and diverse lives.

To begin with, it is obvious that we are living in such a new world that sometimes, one would exclaim at the amazing power which is brought by the development of science and technology. Taking a look around, it is not hard to find that people have no longer written letters to contact each other but pick up their cell phones and dial a series of numbers, and then they can communicate conveniently. Or the instant message tools such as MSN can help ones receive and reply others' messages even if they have no cell phones. Moreover, the complex society requires us to learn how to deal with a large amount of troubles not only in a clear mind but also effectively and how to survive in the severe competitions. Maybe everyone has such a feeling: This era is so different with the past.

However, even though this world that we are living in is so different with the past, it does not mean that looking back to understand the past is useless. In fact, learning the past makes us to know how society changes and it can provide experience to prevent us from making mistakes. In addition, the experience of the past can also evoke us to know who we are, where we come from and what we really need. For example, when American contributed the United States, they learned from the past that without liberty, freedom and right, the lives are terrible. So when they legislated the constitution, the spirit of protecting people's liberty, private, democracy, and the like was put in it, which is appreciated by the whole nation not only at past but also at present and in future.

What is more, sometimes, the knowledge which is learned from the past can be the foundation of today's research. Isaac Newton had expressed this opinion hundreds years ago since he said that why he had so many great achievements is because he had learned much from the past. Another example comes from modern China. Wu Wenjun, one of the greatest mathematicians in modern China, prefers to read books which are written in ancient period. When many experts claimed that ancient Chinese mathematics had been researched and it was not useful any more, Wu Wenjun did not conform to their opinions. Finally, after many years' research, he found the deep meaning of ancient Chinese mathematics and combined it with computer technology. It was the birth of a new subject which is called Mathematics Mechanicism. Without the knowledge of the past, maybe the originality and the development of this subject would wait for many years.

In sum, even though contemporary society is new and complex, and it is largely different of the past, learning the past can benefit us a lot. One should not only learn it but understand it deeply, and the its amazing glamorous would be found.