--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It wasn't that we didn't know history…" description: "\"“It wasn't that we didn't know history. Even if you only count the real world, we knew more history than most people. We'd been taught about cavemen an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/jo-walton-7623_family_it-wasn-t-that-we-didn-t-know-history-ev_2660429.jpg" --- # It wasn't that we didn't know history. Even if you only… ![“It wasn't that we didn't know history. Even if you only count the real world, we knew more history than most people. We'd been taught about cavemen and Normans and Tudors. We knew about Greeks and Romans. We knew masses of personal stories about World War II. We even knew quite a lot of family…” quote by Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/jo-walton-7623_family_it-wasn-t-that-we-didn-t-know-history-ev_2660429.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/jo-walton-7623_family_it-wasn-t-that-we-didn-t-know-history-ev_2660429.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/jo-walton-7623_family_it-wasn-t-that-we-didn-t-know-history-ev_2660429.jpg) > ““It wasn't that we didn't know history. Even if you only count the real world, we knew more history than most people. We'd been taught about cavemen and Normans and Tudors. We knew about Greeks and Romans. We knew masses of personal stories about World War II. We even knew quite a lot of family history. It just didn't connect to the landscape. And it was the landscape that formed us, that made us who we were as we grew in it, that affected everything. We thought we were living in a fantasy landscape when actually we were living in a science fictional one. In ignorance, we played our way through what the elves and giants had left us, taking the fairies' possession for ownership. I named the dramroads after places in The Lord of the Rings when I should have recognized that they were from The Chrysalids. ”” [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects that despite extensive historical knowledge, they failed to see how their environment shaped identity, mistaking reality for fantasy and misattributing cultural references. **In simple terms:** Knowing history isn’t enough; we must understand how our surroundings shape us. Key Takeaway Recognize the influence of place on identity. Themes identity environment perception culture history Mood reflective thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - urban planning - education - personal reflection - creative writing - heritage preservation Key Concepts ecology mythology literary influence Questions to Reflect On - How does your environment shape your worldview? - What myths influence your perception of reality? A Different Perspective Historical knowledge alone cannot bridge the gap between facts and lived experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Family history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-history/) [Fantasy Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy-landscape-2422543/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-people/) [Knew History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-history-298235/) [Know History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-history/) [Named Dramroads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/named-dramroads-2422544/) [Real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-world/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/) [World war ii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war-ii/) ## Related quotes > [You know that's history, that's why some people say that my stuff is retro, but I don't agree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-newson/you-know-that-s-history-that-s-why-some-people-say-that-my-stuff-is/) [Marc Newson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-newson/) > [ \[Sport officials\] blocked their support of us. But those individuals \[ Muhammad Ali, the Jim Browns, the Bill Russells, Kareem Abdul Jabbar \] were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carlos/sport-officials-blocked-their-support-of-us-but-those-individuals/) [John Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carlos/) > [The future will use and dispose of the memories of people that we knew as history sees fit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eisenhower/the-future-will-use-and-dispose-of-the-memories-of-people-that-we/) [David Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eisenhower/) > [“None save her people knew her history, but there were wonderful stories of how she had bowed to tradition, and concentrated in herself the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-murray-gilchrist/none-save-her-people-knew-her-history-but-there-were-wonderful/) [R. Murray Gilchrist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-murray-gilchrist/) > [“Already he knew something of the history of the intervening years. He had heard now of the moral decay that had followed the collapse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/already-he-knew-something-of-the-history-of-the-intervening-years-he/) [H.G. 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Even if you only count the real world, we knew more history than most people. We'd been taught about cavemen and Normans and Tudors. We knew about Greeks and Romans. We knew masses of personal stories about World War II. We even knew quite a lot of family history. It just didn't connect to the landscape. And it was the landscape that formed us, that made us who we were as we grew in it, that affected everything. We thought we were living in a fantasy landscape when actually we were living in a science fictional one. In ignorance, we played our way through what the elves and giants had left us, taking the fairies' possession for ownership. 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