“History is opaque.  You see what comes out, not the script tat produces the events, the generator of history… The human mind suffers from three ailments as it comes in contact with history, what I call the triplet of opacity… They are [1] the illusion of understanding… the retrospective distortion… the overvaluation of factual information and the handicap of authoritative and learned people…”

After a catastrophic event occurs we tend to compartmentalize a select group of “facts” – looking to the simple solution.  Many scholars have looked back on the events leading up to World War II to demonstrate how “we” knew it was coming.  However, the journal of William Shirer proved the opposite – “the diary purported to describe the events as they were taking place, not after.”  the question must be asked:  What is more respectful of the “truth”, the diary of events or reflections on those events?

“Categorizing is necessary for humans, but it becomes pathological when the category is seen as definitive, preventing people from considering the fuzziness of boundaries, let alone revising their categories.”