Questions Remain Unanswered About Grievance and Learning From the Past

In a recent tweet, @nntaleb and @vtchakarova posed two questions about the terms “grievance” and “learning from the past.” Unfortunately, these questions remain unanswered, leaving many to wonder what exactly these terms mean. Grievance is a term that can be used in many different contexts. It can refer to an individual feeling wronged or slighted by another person or group of people. It can also refer to a country claiming that another country has committed an act of aggression against it. For example, Ukraine might claim that Russia is killing civilians within its borders, while India might claim that Britain starved millions of people to death in 1943. The second question posed by @nntaleb and @vtchakarova was how do we expect people to learn from the past? This is a difficult question as there are many different ways for individuals and societies to learn from history. Some may choose to study history in order to gain insight into how certain events unfolded in order to avoid repeating mistakes made in the past. Others may choose not to look back at all, instead focusing on moving forward with their lives without dwelling on past events or experiences. Regardless of which approach one takes towards learning from the past, it is clear that more needs to be done in order for us as individuals and societies as a whole to truly understand our history and make sure we don't repeat our mistakes again. Without further discussion about what exactly constitutes grievance and how best we should learn from our shared histories, these questions will remain unanswered for some time yet.