What is an academic experience, project, class or book that has influenced or inspired you?
The things that motivate our life's path are often only clear in retrospect. But on occasion there are those singular moments that light a fire. For me, an amazing number of those moments come with my nose buried in a book-in a coffee house, on a beach, in an airport. Something crystallizes.
I remember clearly my summer holidays two years ago at Thailand, picking up Niall Ferguson's War of the World : History's Age of Hatred. The book is a moral analysis of the military-industrial slaughter of the 20th century that poses the big question: Why was it that "the hundred years after 1900 were without question the bloodiest century in modern history"? Hatred may be a strong word, but there isn't a word more apt to describe what has happened across the world in the past century. With modern weaponry, killing has become more efficient then ever. You may have thought that we have progressed morally as well as economically and scientifically. Well this book shows that we haven't progressed at all.
As a history student, I know that prejudice and discrimination would inevitably lead to hatred and conflict. Racism is rampant throughout much of the world and ethnic conflicts are more widespread then ever. The world can only progress if conflict is resolved, and acceptance of different races and cultures is the key. Education plays a huge role in this as I believe that only through knowledge will people be more tolerant of others. Intolerance is bred through fear. With an education at Brown, I hope to be able to understand how such hatred could be resolved.
After finishing this book, I realized that history wasn't just the study of past events; it was the study of people, of human beings. The study of individuals who changed the course of history and of masses that were swept along with time. I could easily understand and empathize with the victims in this book. Despite never having had a gun pointed at my head, I could imagine the terror and the pain they felt. On the other hand, I did not understand how so many people could have acted the way they did. How was it that people simply did not care about others? Was it true then, that during moments of crisis, humans regress back into beasts? At that moment, I didn't just want to study history. I desperately wanted to study history.
It is said that good books raise more questions then it answers. My dream is enter Brown and ultimately be able to answer these questions.
Any comments?
Feedback is always welcome =)
Deadlines tonite so I better send it fast.
The things that motivate our life's path are often only clear in retrospect. But on occasion there are those singular moments that light a fire. For me, an amazing number of those moments come with my nose buried in a book-in a coffee house, on a beach, in an airport. Something crystallizes.
I remember clearly my summer holidays two years ago at Thailand, picking up Niall Ferguson's War of the World : History's Age of Hatred. The book is a moral analysis of the military-industrial slaughter of the 20th century that poses the big question: Why was it that "the hundred years after 1900 were without question the bloodiest century in modern history"? Hatred may be a strong word, but there isn't a word more apt to describe what has happened across the world in the past century. With modern weaponry, killing has become more efficient then ever. You may have thought that we have progressed morally as well as economically and scientifically. Well this book shows that we haven't progressed at all.
As a history student, I know that prejudice and discrimination would inevitably lead to hatred and conflict. Racism is rampant throughout much of the world and ethnic conflicts are more widespread then ever. The world can only progress if conflict is resolved, and acceptance of different races and cultures is the key. Education plays a huge role in this as I believe that only through knowledge will people be more tolerant of others. Intolerance is bred through fear. With an education at Brown, I hope to be able to understand how such hatred could be resolved.
After finishing this book, I realized that history wasn't just the study of past events; it was the study of people, of human beings. The study of individuals who changed the course of history and of masses that were swept along with time. I could easily understand and empathize with the victims in this book. Despite never having had a gun pointed at my head, I could imagine the terror and the pain they felt. On the other hand, I did not understand how so many people could have acted the way they did. How was it that people simply did not care about others? Was it true then, that during moments of crisis, humans regress back into beasts? At that moment, I didn't just want to study history. I desperately wanted to study history.
It is said that good books raise more questions then it answers. My dream is enter Brown and ultimately be able to answer these questions.
Any comments?
Feedback is always welcome =)
Deadlines tonite so I better send it fast.
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