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TitaniumAlloy
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posted August 05, 2008 07:49 AM |
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Urgent Help Appreciated :)
Hey if some of the regular OSM posters or just anyone with some neat philosophy could help me out by enriching my ideas on a subject that'd be great.
I have to write an expository essay for an imporant english assessment tomorrow on the topic:
"It is necessary to fully acknowledge the past in order to successfully face the present reality of our lives."
Some people might think this is cheating or wrong or something equally untrue but I disagree because it merely helps me get a better mark and harms no one 
But like
The main reason I ask is does anyone have any context such as a book, quote, film, historical or current news event etc that can relate to this topic and also the context of Reality. ?
Or just any random thoughts (agree or disagree etc, your 2 cents are like gold to me ) or ideas would really be appreciated.
And the reason I post this so late is because I only got the prompt today.
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John says to live above hell.
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TitaniumAlloy
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posted August 05, 2008 10:11 AM |
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bump !
Sorry mods but like importance n whatnot and urgency 
Just like anything you can think of that relates to that topic.
Like for example (I'm not using this one but this is the kind of thing I'm looking for) in The Matrix how Neo isn't ready to accept the real world or something, and then some fresh quote or something.
Anything!
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John says to live above hell.
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Lexxan
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posted August 05, 2008 10:16 AM |
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Edited by Lexxan at 10:16, 05 Aug 2008.
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I'll try to help you, I don't have much time atm. I'll try to reply this evening (in five-six hours from now). When is the Deadline?
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Coincidence? I think not!!!!
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TitaniumAlloy
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posted August 05, 2008 10:17 AM |
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Uhm
Well I'm probably going to sleep in about 4-5 hours and it's tomorrow 
yeah short notice I know
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John says to live above hell.
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Lexxan
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posted August 05, 2008 10:19 AM |
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Ouch that hurts.
Well I had a similar question on my Dutch Exam, a few month ago, so I'll give it a go
It'll written in a hurry, so don't expect too much of it
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Coincidence? I think not!!!!
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TitaniumAlloy
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posted August 05, 2008 10:33 AM |
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Thanks.
Anything will help.
My points I have drafted (I can only write it up during the exam time) are something along these lines:
-Rejection or attempting to hide the past is futile as it can come back to haunt is with consequences.
Such as Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire
-In some situations the absolute truth of the past is unknowable as we may only have subjective accounts of the event and as such we cannot accurately act on the present based on this event.
Such as the rape in A Streetcar Named Desire, a current news story in Australia where an olympic swimmer was accused of punching a team mate, and a scene in Enduring Love
-Our recollections of the past and memory can be muddled and distorted which hinders our ability to face the present accurately and properly.
Erasure of memory in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the use of drugs in the film A Scanner Darkly and possibly the film Total Recall
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John says to live above hell.
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Guitarguy
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Rockoon.
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posted August 05, 2008 11:41 AM |
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Here are some thought-provoking quotes I found. Chances are you've seen them already, but oh well.
http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_history.html
"History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are." (David C. McCullough)
"History is the only laboratory we have in which to test the consequences of thought." (Etienne Gilson)
"What we do about history matters. The often repeated saying that those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them has a lot of truth in it. But what are 'the lessons of history'? The very attempt at definition furnishes ground for new conflicts. History is not a recipe book; past events are never replicated in the present in quite the same way. Historical events are infinitely variable and their interpretations are a constantly shifting process. There are no certainties to be found in the past." (Gerda Lerner)
"We can learn from history how past generations thought and acted, how they responded to the demands of their time and how they solved their problems. We can learn by analogy, not by example, for our circumstances will always be different than theirs were. The main thing history can teach us is that human actions have consequences and that certain choices, once made, cannot be undone. They foreclose the possibility of making other choices and thus they determine future events." (Gerda Lerner)
If you want an extremely basic opinion on this topic, I'll try to sum up mine. While I agree that it's important to acknowledge the past, I also agree with Lerner that historical lessons aren't always absolute answers to our dilemmas. There's no guarantee that we'll succeed by heeding lessons from the past. History offers us perspectives; it's more like hints and suggestions than actual answers. Since we aren't all-knowing and there's still a lot of gaps in what we know of history, we can only hope to make the right decisions based on what we happen to know. It's never really certain.
-Guitarguy
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TitaniumAlloy
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posted August 05, 2008 11:48 AM |
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Thanks, that's perfect!
I agree with what you said about how it's never really certain.
I guess the dilemma is, to what extent to we trust history etc as a guideline and to what degree should we act upon this or on other things.
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John says to live above hell.
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Lexxan
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posted August 05, 2008 01:27 PM |
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So, I guess my help isn't required anymore?
(I had to quit due to expected events, sorry)
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Coincidence? I think not!!!!
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TitaniumAlloy
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posted August 05, 2008 01:42 PM |
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hmm
I will sleep on it
Unfortunately I had to spend most of tonight doing physics 
Wish me luck lol.
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John says to live above hell.
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Lexxan
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posted August 05, 2008 01:48 PM |
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Good Luck then.
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Coincidence? I think not!!!!
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TitaniumAlloy
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posted August 06, 2008 08:27 AM |
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Mods you can wastelands this if you like, or if anyone wants to continue discussion I guess.
I ended up being pressed for time and in being rushed I missed out my current event reference.
But hopefully I did ok.
I talked alot of philosophical bull**** but I also repeated myself alot.
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John says to live above hell.
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william
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posted August 06, 2008 08:33 AM |
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I had an English exam yesterday. It is for the trial HSC exams. One of the questions was attitudes for characters (a book we are studying and one related text of my own choosing) that are in an institution.
I really had trouble thinking of the film, but I eventually chose Silent Night Deadly Night Part 2
Most of what I said was telling of how he killed so many people
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~Ticking away the moments that
make up a dull day, Fritter and
waste the hours in an off-hand
way~
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Lexxan
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posted August 06, 2008 09:27 AM |
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I once had to read the WHOLE Lord of the Rings Triligoy + Hamlet + Heart of Darkness + King Lear + Romeo and Julliet  for some HUGE English Exam task. 
You solved it well TA, Philosphical Rubbish almost always works  (It worked with me)
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Coincidence? I think not!!!!
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TitaniumAlloy
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posted August 07, 2008 10:21 AM |
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I managed to doubly contradict myself and state things that were very untrue but sounded nice and philosophical.
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John says to live above hell.
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