Perspective - Historian or a Designer!

This article questioned the birth and evolution of history itself. Historical views on History.

"Our answers, consciously or unconsciously, reflects our own position in time, and forms part of our answer to the broader question what view we take of the society in which we live."

Historians added character to what existed as facts, figures, some memories and research. By the end of the article we know that facts and historians have an unending equal relationship. What I find amazing in this article is that I find so many perspectives and in so many places.
The article itself is not just a single view on history but a well concluded, constructed and evolved one, with so many takes on history throughout our past. And now we are here giving our take to these views, which is yet another perspective and will become history.

"St Augustine looked at history from the point of view of the early christian......Each was the only one possible for the man who adopted it."(pg 20)

This also tells us a lot about having different perspective, the same fact being looked at from 10 different point views creates 10 different histories! And further 'validation' by other historians may build upon these perspective to create their own perspective in history.
The character and the life which a historian gives to his findings and readings are inevitable yet important. As the different perspective themselves tell us a lot about the historian, the era he wrote it in, what influenced his views, etc.
But sadly we have a very narrow view on history. I feel a gap between reading history and understanding that it is just one of 100 views of the same fact.
As kids, it came as information. We had to know how, when and why British came to invade and colonize, how many died, and what a devastating effect they must have had. No other perspective came our way. We were never bothered by who wrote it and who validated it.

Another thing which stands out in this article for me is the selection process.
"It never occurred to me to inquire by what accident or process of attritation that minute selection of facts, out of all ...............become the facts of history" (pg7)
To which I want to quote another view by Neitzsche (Pg 21)
".... The question is how far it is life furthering, life preserving, species preserving, perhaps species- creating"
One talks about the selection process.Who decided what is valid and relevent for the present and the future. And the other talks about purpose.
" Knowledge is knowledge with a purpose". Every historian, in my thinking has the right to chose his own pupose of writing and recording, and it is our purpose which makes us accept it or not. Time, events, nature and experience, all would determine whats important for the historian.

I constantly related these issues to the relevance it has in my life. I concluded that as a designer, persective, selection and purpose are as important as a historian.
A designers role is also of a historian's.

Vidhi Goel