by Richard Sprigg

Created on: May 10, 2009   Last Updated: May 12, 2009

The past, whether it be yesterday or the fall of Sumer, is our best guide to current and future actions. By examining the results of past actions we may make an educated guess about the results of similar actions taken today.

Because we live in a dynamic universe where the major constant is ongoing change, the ability to respond and adapt to change is an essential factor in long-term survival. Many of the phenomena that face us every day are similar to those that have occurred in the past, and by considering the responses tried before we may formulate a strategy to deal with them in the future. Indeed, were the universe static in nature, there would be little need for memory: rules for response to phenomena would have been codified millennia past.

This is the positive aspect of dwelling on the past, as a useful guide to our actions in the present. Another aspect of dwelling on the past is both common and far less useful: the use of memory as a comparator to the present day. In many ways this is almost a catharsis against the constant onslaught of change that impacts every individual every day.

It is unpalatable but true that not only does the world change profoundly on an ongoing basis, but each individual changes at the same speed, adults growing older (yet infrequently wiser), children becoming adults in their turn.

For many individuals this causes not only hardening of the arteries but also hardening of the attitudes, which result in the recall of memories of a Golden Age when the world was 'better' (more familiar) and the individual was young, strong and open to impressions. The ability to re-interpret the phenomena that surrounded them in times past assists in this process. To quote the old joke, The older I get the better I was.

The attraction of this is obvious: the past is over, and is not going to rise up and administer some unexpected trauma. The past of an individual is, within wide limits, largely malleable. Thus unlike the present, which has the unsettling habit of presenting each individual with unfamiliar circumstances to react to as best they can, the past is a known quantity which can be changed if the events are unflattering.

This explains the popularity of dead heroes; they are never going to say or do anything embarrassing, and that which they did say can be explained away. They will never become wizened toothless reminders of mortality.

The past is like a library; it is an excellent and instructive place to visit as long as one makes sure that the information thus obtained is accurate. It would, however, be a terrible place to live, as it is unlikely to possess most of the conveniences needed for a full and satisfying life.

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