andyh
January 25th, 2006, 02:15 AM
Hello: I am 26 and my father and I are history buffs--probably nothing unusual here. I have been reading posts from the archives of this site for months now and bringing them to my attention of my dad, which usually means reading them out loud, as his eyes are bad and he is far from internet-savvy.
I guess I'm worried that I'm not knowledgable enough about history to hold my own here. Are most of the people who post at least history grad students? That's the impression I get. I was an English major and my dad Physics, but we both read a lot of history for our own enjoyment and discussion--mostly American, but any kind, really. I guess I, for one, am tired of wading around in the shallow end of the conversation pool while I work up the money to go to grad school, trying to talk about a relatively obscure historical topic with friends or girlfriends and getting nothing much in return. I'm interested in what I've learned from this site (trivia I've been filled in on, new takes on historical figures and events, books it's pointed me toward) and I just don't want to get torn apart if I mess up a fact.
My big question, though, is: What are some of the What-If issues that have been beaten to death, the ones that the really good people have already chewed over a hundred times and now mark you as a total amateur? I'm about to post one about Johnston never being wounded during the Civil War and how that would have affected the outcome, and i hope nobody sighs too loudly; Hey, I haven't heard it discussed!
Anyway, thanks everybody for some great discussions. I'm sure lots of people are like me and enjoy them without ever chiming in.
I guess I'm worried that I'm not knowledgable enough about history to hold my own here. Are most of the people who post at least history grad students? That's the impression I get. I was an English major and my dad Physics, but we both read a lot of history for our own enjoyment and discussion--mostly American, but any kind, really. I guess I, for one, am tired of wading around in the shallow end of the conversation pool while I work up the money to go to grad school, trying to talk about a relatively obscure historical topic with friends or girlfriends and getting nothing much in return. I'm interested in what I've learned from this site (trivia I've been filled in on, new takes on historical figures and events, books it's pointed me toward) and I just don't want to get torn apart if I mess up a fact.
My big question, though, is: What are some of the What-If issues that have been beaten to death, the ones that the really good people have already chewed over a hundred times and now mark you as a total amateur? I'm about to post one about Johnston never being wounded during the Civil War and how that would have affected the outcome, and i hope nobody sighs too loudly; Hey, I haven't heard it discussed!
Anyway, thanks everybody for some great discussions. I'm sure lots of people are like me and enjoy them without ever chiming in.