Different ways of assembling and interpreting information can be credited as relevant studying strategies for any subject. One of them, which is considered to be rather effective among the specialists, but not popular among the students, is the historical approach to the subject of studies. Students reject it as something related to the past and thus seemingly outdated. However, a historical approach to operation with information can be very rewarding as it provides the connection between past and present, and also shows important lessons which are to be applied in order to avoid sad mistakes of previous times.
The historical approach was often used by such meters of education and science as Abe Lincoln, George Washington, and Paul Bunyan (Davidson 17). These successful scholars (and not only) had a deep understanding of the importance of relating any received information to the facts from the past. They knew that using the historical approach to information operation would be one of the most reliable approaches. The way the historical approach to the information collection and evaluation may be beneficial is well seen in the case of Silas Deane’s death.
Speaking about Silas Deane, it should be mentioned that the reasons of this significant political figure’s death as well as the circumstances leading to it may be argued and considered to be extremely ambiguous and confusing (Davidson 19). Thus, it presents a well-fitting case for the research on the topic of proper information collection and evaluation. Historians still argue about numerous matters related to this confusing event; however, they have progressed a lot as they had carefully studied political and other related backgrounds of the problem. Each person may make one’s own conclusions as to this historical event, but these conclusions will only be relevant in case they are made on the basis of the political situation existing at the time of Silas Deane. Davidson indicates that “whatever “really happened” to Deane 200 years ago cannot be determined today without the active participation of the historian” (19).
One more example showing the effectiveness of the historical approach to information collecting and evaluating can be seen in the case of the Berinmo, a small tribe of hunter-gatherers and their language development (Fountain 1). The researches concerning the color naming conception in their language started in the 1950s (Fountain 1). Particularly due to the historical approach to data assembling and interpreting, the conclusions made by researchers later were astounding. Again, in this case, it can be seen that the value of the historical approach to operating with data cannot be overestimated.
In addition, the problem of information collection and evaluation by means of the use of a historical approach can be explored through the lenses of the investigation done by Elkins in his article “How to Look at Color”. The article explores varied points of view on the issue of color quantity which really exists. The author makes an effort to relate varied information in chronological consequence and then to give an explanation to it. Evaluating all the related information the author is able to make his own conclusions as to the abundance of colors (Elkins par. 25). In this case, the value of the historical approach of studying particular matters is also evident.
In conclusion, there exist varied ways of collecting and evaluating information. One of the very successful of them is the historical approach. The strong points of this approach can be seen in the case of Silas Deane’s death and the investigations related to color quantity conducted by Elkins and Fountain.
Works Cited
Davidson, James and Mark Lytle. “The Strange Death of Silas Deane”. After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection, 2 (1992): 17-19. Print.
Elkins, James. How to Look at Color. New York: Routledge, 2000. Print.
Fountain, Henry. “Proof Positive that People See Colors with the Tongue”. New York Times, Feb. 1999. Print.