--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The older I get the more I'm convinced…" description: "\"The older I get the more I'm convinced that it's the purpose of politicians and journalists to say the world is very simple, whereas it's the purpose o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/david-cannadine-27126_complicated_the-older-i-get-the-more-i-m-convinced-t_302393.jpg" --- # The older I get the more I'm convinced that it's the… ![“The older I get the more I'm convinced that it's the purpose of politicians and journalists to say the world is very simple, whereas it's the purpose of historians to say, 'No! It's very complicated.' The job of the historian is to help give people a sense of existence in time, without which we…” quote by David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/david-cannadine-27126_complicated_the-older-i-get-the-more-i-m-convinced-t_302393.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/david-cannadine-27126_complicated_the-older-i-get-the-more-i-m-convinced-t_302393.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/david-cannadine-27126_complicated_the-older-i-get-the-more-i-m-convinced-t_302393.jpg) > “The older I get the more I'm convinced that it's the purpose of politicians and journalists to say the world is very simple, whereas it's the purpose of historians to say, 'No! It's very complicated.' The job of the historian is to help give people a sense of existence in time, without which we are really not fully human.” [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historians emphasize complexity, countering simplistic narratives of politicians and journalists, to foster a deeper sense of humanity. **In simple terms:** Historians show how life is complex, not simple. Key Takeaway Seek nuanced understanding of history. Themes history complexity humanity politics media Mood thoughtful reflective Type analytical educational When to use this quote - education - public discourse - policy making - media literacy Key Concepts historical analysis critical thinking temporal perspective Questions to Reflect On - How does complexity shape identity? - What responsibilities do historians have? A Different Perspective Simplistic narratives can still hold partial truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Historians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historians/) [Historiography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historiography/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“…historians will say 'We have a few documents to show how the common people lived at this time. Records lead us to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/historians-will-say-we-have-a-few-documents-to-show-how-the-common/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Rooting arguments in evidence and respecting scholarly norms, historians must craft stories that shape the future as well as the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-lansing/rooting-arguments-in-evidence-and-respecting-scholarly-norms/) Michael J. Lansing > [“Good historians...have the future in their bones”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hallett-carr/good-historians-have-the-future-in-their-bones/) [Edward Hallett Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hallett-carr/) > [If physicists could not quote in the text, they would not feel that much was lost with respect to advancement of knowledge of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-h-hexter/if-physicists-could-not-quote-in-the-text-they-would-not-feel-that/) J. H. Hexter > [There are some historians who say that democratic republics dont last more than 200 years. Well, weve got to show that you can last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-hinchey/there-are-some-historians-who-say-that-democratic-republics-dont-last/) [Maurice Hinchey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-hinchey/) > [“I've come to read and hear many unlikely things about the times when people lived in freedom, i.e., the unorganized savage state. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/i-ve-come-to-read-and-hear-many-unlikely-things-about-the-times-when/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [As historians, our training and discipline is based on documentary evidence,.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-dixon/as-historians-our-training-and-discipline-is-based-on-documentary/) [David Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-dixon/) > [Geologists complain that when they want specimens of the common rocks of a country, they receive curious spars; just so, historians give us the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/geologists-complain-that-when-they-want-specimens-of-the-common-rocks/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [If you will protest courageously, and yet with dignity and Christian love, when the history books are written in future generations, the historians will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-will-protest-courageously-and-yet-with-dignity-and-christian/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poets have familiarized more people with history than have the historians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-poets-have-familiarized-more-people-with-history-than-have-the/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ I have learned more \[from Balzac\] than from all the professional historians, economists, and statisticians put together. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/i-have-learned-more-from-balzac-than-from-all-the-professional/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [Well goodness knows, goodness knows what historians will write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-downer/well-goodness-knows-goodness-knows-what-historians-will-write/) [Alexander Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-downer/) > [Since history has no properly scientific value, its only purpose is educative. And if historians neglect to educate the public, if they fail to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-trevelyan/since-history-has-no-properly-scientific-value-its-only-purpose-is/) [G. M. Trevelyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-trevelyan/) > [In history as it comes to be written, there is usually some Spirit of the Age which historians can define, but the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/in-history-as-it-comes-to-be-written-there-is-usually-some-spirit-of/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) ## More by David Cannadine > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [Lord Beaverbrook was fundamentally a lonely man, with a low sense of his own self-worth, who was incapable of forming a stable, loving relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/lord-beaverbrook-was-fundamentally-a-lonely-man-with-a-low-sense-of/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [For those who reject it, the Victorian experience is something to feel embarrassed about, to apologise for, to escape from, and never to repeat.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/for-those-who-reject-it-the-victorian-experience-is-something-to-feel/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [Charitable endeavour exalts the prestige and the status of the giver. This may sound unduly cynical but as with all philantrophic activity, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/charitable-endeavour-exalts-the-prestige-and-the-status-of-the-giver/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [Prince Charles's concern for the underprivileged and disadvantaged has not exactly endeared him to the Conservative Central Office. As Norman Tebbit replied, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/prince-charles-s-concern-for-the-underprivileged-and-disadvantaged/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [More attention should have been given to the fundamental transformation which took place during Queen Victoria's reign, from ruling sovereign to constitutional monarch. Again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/more-attention-should-have-been-given-to-the-fundamental/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [Kitty Kelley's method, already perfected in her unauthorised and unflattering biographies of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Reagan, is to write bestsellers that take what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/kitty-kelley-s-method-already-perfected-in-her-unauthorised-and/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [David Irving has consistenly applied an evidential double standard, demanding absolute documentary proof to convict the Germans (as when he sought to show that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/david-irving-has-consistenly-applied-an-evidential-double-standard/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [For all her active goodness, Florence Nightingale herself was far from being the angelic figure of popular adulation: according to Lytton Strachey's Eminent Victorians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/for-all-her-active-goodness-florence-nightingale-herself-was-far-from/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [On several occasions, we are informed that the professional ideal 'took steps', 'organised assaults', and 'selected social problems'. But this is anthropomorphic metaphor implausibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/on-several-occasions-we-are-informed-that-the-professional-ideal-took/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [Vernon Bogdanor's account The Monarchy and the Constitution is written as much in the shadow of Edmund Burke as it is of Walter Bagehot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/vernon-bogdanor-s-account-the-monarchy-and-the-constitution-is/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [Like sex, poverty and power, suicide may always be with us. But like them again, the actual form is takes is essentially time-specific and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/like-sex-poverty-and-power-suicide-may-always-be-with-us-but-like/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [Scandal, it bears repeating, undermines monarchies, but rarely ends them. It may be true that, according to a recent editorial in the New York…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/scandal-it-bears-repeating-undermines-monarchies-but-rarely-ends-them/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [It is impossible not to be moved by the verve, courage and elan with Churchill attacked his last and ultimately invincible enemy, old age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/it-is-impossible-not-to-be-moved-by-the-verve-courage-and-elan-with/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [There are important arguments to be made about the relative merits of an hereditary or an elected head of state: but not at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/there-are-important-arguments-to-be-made-about-the-relative-merits-of/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) [Explore all 21 David Cannadine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) ## More Complicated quotes > [Of course I like you. It's because I like you I don't wanna be with you. It's a complicated emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlin/of-course-i-like-you-it-s-because-i-like-you-i-don-t-wanna-be-with/) Marlin > [“Why the hell did he have to be so complicated? One minute he was charming, the next he withdrew behind his internal walls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-davis/why-the-hell-did-he-have-to-be-so-complicated-one-minute-he-was/) [Lia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-davis/) > [Life is more complicated than we think, yet far simpler than anyone dares to imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/life-is-more-complicated-than-we-think-yet-far-simpler-than-anyone/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we cannot avoid it… If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/programmers-are-always-surrounded-by-complexity-we-cannot-avoid-it-if/) [Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/) > [“Just because it's complicated, just because you think you can't ever know everything about another person, it doesn't mean you can't try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/just-because-it-s-complicated-just-because-you-think-you-can-t-ever/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [The one thing I absolutely hate about social media are the people who abuse it. Whenever I see a person who constantly posts negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmin-garcia/the-one-thing-i-absolutely-hate-about-social-media-are-the-people-who/) [Jazmin Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmin-garcia/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [Your Starbucks order is directly proportional to how complicated your personality is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin/your-starbucks-order-is-directly-proportional-to-how-complicated-your/) [Kevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [I have learned so much from my dad. Perhaps the biggest thing I've learned from my dad is how to be prepared at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sekulow/i-have-learned-so-much-from-my-dad-perhaps-the-biggest-thing-i-ve/) [Jay Sekulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sekulow/) > [The world is complicated and full of grays, but there's still truth there to be found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-world-is-complicated-and-full-of-grays-but-there-s-still-truth/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ The parts of the \[Civil Right\] Movement we recognize so well now were not born from a single decision, but were a complicated and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-aydin/the-parts-of-the-civil-right-movement-we-recognize-so-well-now-were/) [Andrew Aydin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-aydin/) > [Two people could build an outhouse in four hours. They're not complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-maxwell/two-people-could-build-an-outhouse-in-four-hours-they-re-not/) [Robert Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-maxwell/) Browse all 3,190 Complicated quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The older I get the more I'm convinced that it's the purpose of politicians and journalists to say the world is very simple, whereas it's the purpose of historians to say, 'No! It's very complicated.' 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