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Yep, tbh it is kind of wasteful to just go into Thucydides...like you read it, and 95% of it will go over your head (that is a particularly good choice of examp

Yep, tbh it is kind of wasteful to just go into Thucydides...like you read it, and 95% of it will go over your head (that is a particularly good choice of example because it is at the nexus of sp many important subjects...if you just come in without anything...it is just a normal book). And, imo, dipping between books is far more effective. Even at university, you are given a few sources and you move between them but it isn't natural. Going between sources naturally at your own pace and based on your own interest/understanding will build far more actual knowledge than trying to shortcut your way there (and yes, Wiki is great for that). It is a shame that doesn't fit into some kind of formal education system...definitely in a subject like history, the end result would be far better work from academics.

nubbins 7y ago
Ouch, that really hit home about Thucydides. I was going through the Classics at one point, and did get a lot out of Herodotus and some of the philosophers, but Peloponnesian War just seemed like a list of islands they sailed to, and fought at. I did get a general sense that diplomacy and debate hasn't changed much in 2500 years though.
- yesenadam 7y ago
  Hehe I had to stop reading Thucydides because my flatmates were fighting each other at the time, and the book was way too reminiscent of what was happening at home.
  - hogFeast 7y ago
    One of the funniest things I have heard said about Thucydides. Were you just like: "Bro, if the Delian League could see you two now?" laughs quietly to self and walks out the room shaking head
    - yesenadam 7y ago
      There was me and 4 or 5 others renting a huge, cheap Sydney house. My girlfriend and her best friend (early 20s, involved in uni politics) were fighting, and there was a couple in their 40s that had split up, he (a playwright) wanted her out immediately, and she was being hilariously cruel. I came back from visiting my parents to find everyone fighting with each other. I'd just gotten through Herodotus, with great pleasure, but the Melian Dialogue was too much, too in-my-face, sickening.

nubbins 7y ago

Ouch, that really hit home about Thucydides. I was going through the Classics at one point, and did get a lot out of Herodotus and some of the philosophers, but Peloponnesian War just seemed like a list of islands they sailed to, and fought at. I did get a general sense that diplomacy and debate hasn't changed much in 2500 years though.

yesenadam 7y ago
Hehe I had to stop reading Thucydides because my flatmates were fighting each other at the time, and the book was way too reminiscent of what was happening at home.
- hogFeast 7y ago
  One of the funniest things I have heard said about Thucydides. Were you just like: "Bro, if the Delian League could see you two now?" laughs quietly to self and walks out the room shaking head
  - yesenadam 7y ago
    There was me and 4 or 5 others renting a huge, cheap Sydney house. My girlfriend and her best friend (early 20s, involved in uni politics) were fighting, and there was a couple in their 40s that had split up, he (a playwright) wanted her out immediately, and she was being hilariously cruel. I came back from visiting my parents to find everyone fighting with each other. I'd just gotten through Herodotus, with great pleasure, but the Melian Dialogue was too much, too in-my-face, sickening.