--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They way one does research into…" description: "\"“They way one does research into nonexistent history is to tell the story and find out what happened. I believe this isn't very different from what his..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/ursula-k-le-guin-138_history_they-way-one-does-research-into-nonexist_178807.jpg" --- # They way one does research into nonexistent history is to… ![“They way one does research into nonexistent history is to tell the story and find out what happened. I believe this isn't very different from what historians of the so-called real world do. Even if we are present at some historic event, so we comprehend it - can we even remember it - until we can…” quote by Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/ursula-k-le-guin-138_history_they-way-one-does-research-into-nonexist_178807.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/ursula-k-le-guin-138_history_they-way-one-does-research-into-nonexist_178807.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/ursula-k-le-guin-138_history_they-way-one-does-research-into-nonexist_178807.jpg) > ““They way one does research into nonexistent history is to tell the story and find out what happened. I believe this isn't very different from what historians of the so-called real world do. Even if we are present at some historic event, so we comprehend it - can we even remember it - until we can tell it as a story? And for events in times or places outside our own experience, we have nothing to go on but the stories other people tell us. Past events exist, after all, only in memory, which is a form of imagination. The event is real now , but once it's then , its continuing reality is entirely up to us, dependent on our energy and honesty. If we let it drop from memory, only imagination can restore the least glimmer of it. If we lie about the past, forcing it to tell a story we want it to tell, to mean what we want it to mean, it loses its reality, becomes a fake. To bring the past along with us through time in the hold-alls of myth and history is a heavy undertaking; but as Lao Tzu says, wise people march along with the baggage wagons.”” [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History is constructed through storytelling; memory and imagination shape what we consider real, so honesty and effort are needed to preserve truth. **In simple terms:** Stories shape memory; truth needs care. Key Takeaway Preserve history by telling it honestly. Themes history memory storytelling truth imagination Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - Academic research - family oral histories - museum exhibits - personal memoirs Key Concepts Narrative construction collective memory historical epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do we verify stories? - What responsibilities do storytellers have? A Different Perspective If stories are biased, they can distort reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-world/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wise people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-people/) ## Related quotes > [When kids don't learn about their own heritage in school, they just don't care about school... 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He won all his battles, till the last one.” “We all do,” Aeneas remarked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/hector-had-no-virtue-of-course-he-did-he-won-all-his-battles-till-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I was willing to believe him that most modern writing was trash, on the evidence that so much old writing was trash; but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-was-willing-to-believe-him-that-most-modern-writing-was-trash-on/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Can women operate as women in a male institution without becoming imitation men?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/can-women-operate-as-women-in-a-male-institution-without-becoming/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) [Explore all 1,114 Ursula K. Le Guin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. 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I believe this isn't very different from what historians of the so-called real world do. Even if we are present at some historic event, so we comprehend it - can we even remember it - until we can tell it as a story? And for events in times or places outside our own experience, we have nothing to go on but the stories other people tell us. Past events exist, after all, only in memory, which is a form of imagination. The event is real now , but once it's then , its continuing reality is entirely up to us, dependent on our energy and honesty. If we let it drop from memory, only imagination can restore the least glimmer of it. If we lie about the past, forcing it to tell a story we want it to tell, to mean what we want it to mean, it loses its reality, becomes a fake. 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