Reading History Has No Purpose Other Than Serving Us in the Present Moments

Human Mind is Only Focused On Present Rewards

I recently watched a YouTube video from Time Ghost History called Is AI Killing Real History?. It wasn't just about their own work being buried in the algorithm. It was a warning: the internet is being flooded with AI-generated history content—videos made with no historians, often inaccurate, and stripped of any meaningful human insight.

These videos rack up views not because they’re good, but because they’re cheap and plentiful. Algorithms prioritize volume, not value. And what we’re left with is content that feels empty. Shallow summaries of major events, recycled narratives, and historical takes that are sometimes outright wrong.

That got me thinking: why do we care about history at all if this is what it becomes in mass production?

And I landed on this: history only matters when it helps us right now. We don’t study it to preserve the past. We study it because it offers something we can use in the present. If it doesn’t, it’s noise.

History’s Utility is in The Present

History is a manual of what’s worked and what hasn’t. We don’t dig through it out of sentimentality—we do it to get answers. Roman infrastructure still shapes how we build cities. The Great Depression still echoes in how we handle financial crashes. Our interest in history spikes when it feels urgent—when it might help us deal with what’s right in front of us. People looked to the Spanish Flu during COVID not out of curiosity, but because they were searching for clues on how to survive a global pandemic.

But it’s not just practical. History is personal.

It gives people a sense of identity. Cultural stories, national traumas, inherited pride or pain—all of that shapes how we see ourselves. For some, history is a raw nerve. For Holocaust survivors, or communities affected by past atrocities, history is still present. It defines who they are, how they relate to the world, and what they feel entitled—or obligated—to do next. Without that link to present emotion or identity, history becomes noise. People don’t read history to honor the dead. They read it to understand why they feel what they feel, and what they’re supposed to do with that.

Pragmatic Uses of History

History is also a tool—sometimes a blunt one.

It’s used to justify present-day decisions. Leaders cite long-dead treaties to make territorial claims. They reference World War II to argue for new foreign policies. None of it is really about “getting history right.” It’s about building a narrative that serves a goal today. History becomes a prop. When politicians invoke the past, they’re not preserving memory. They’re trying to win.

And it’s strategic. If you’re in business, diplomacy, or negotiation, history helps you read people better. You don’t read the book “A Brief History of China” to become an expert on emperors—you read it to get inside the logic that still shapes decision-making today. Chinese negotiators often emphasize historical continuity because it matters culturally. If you miss that, you’re negotiating blind. History gives you an edge. Not by making you more empathetic—but by making you more effective.

Conclusion

Reading history only makes sense if it’s helping us now.

Whether it’s giving us a model, a justification, or an identity, the value of history is immediate. The past is over. It’s not sacred. It’s not inherently meaningful. It’s just raw material. What we do with it today is what gives it weight.

We should stop romanticizing it and start using it better.