It reminds me of a book I read in about 1981 by
David Hackett Fischer's " Historians' Fallacies:
Toward a Logic of Historical Thought," 1970. I
think he would have termed it "conjectural
history." Without knowing the correct reason,
would-be historians make up something that sounds
reasonable, but is in fact not true. It's a great
book that identifies a number of ways historians
and others can make mistakes in interpreting
history.
Kendra Dillard
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of William Maurer
Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2001 5:40 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Proper term
Monday, President's Day, and again today I
attended presentations at
historic sites in celebration of General
Washington's birthday. Now, I have
been researching His Excellency for most of my
adult life and thought that I
knew him pretty well. In both cases the speaker
presented a fact that was so
wild (and so amazing) that I wondered how I could
have possibly missed it in
my reading and research. I checked and found that
the statement was entirely
wrong. It was as if the speaker wanted to shock
the audience with great,
superior knowledge.
(When I first came to Gomez Mill House, I heard a
volunteer say - and this
volunteer was a practicing attorney - that the
reason there were two
fireplaces in the large downstairs living room was
because Mr.Gomez kept a
Kosher home. He, therefore, had a fireplace for
dairy and one for meat. The
truth, of course, is that the large room was once
two smaller rooms, each
with its own fireplace.)
I am wondering if there is a term for an entirely
wrong statement of fact or
wild exaggeration. A statement that certainly
should have been caught by the
director, educator or whoever is in charge of
guide or docent training.
Have you experienced this as a common thing in
historic houses and the
telling of the history? There must be a term
stronger than "silly docent
tales."
Just remembered one time in Philadelphia hearing a
young guide refer to "the
Justices' Supreme" which, I assume, must have
been a rock group during the
American Revolution.
Thanks.
*****************************
C.F.William Maurer
Director, Gomez Mill House
11 Mill House Road
Marlboro, NY 12542
(845) 236-3126
[log in to unmask]
www.gomez.org
Could this old house on the Hudson but speak, it
might justly echo the
Colonial maxim declaring freedom of conscience "to
every man, whether
Jew, or Turk or papist, or whomsoever steers no
otherwise than his
conscience dares." The Craftsman, Oct. 1909
*****************************
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