Perception Is Reality

I just could not sleep last night. Tossing and turning, cursing, and watching infomercials did nothing to help Mr. Sandman find me. So I thought if I am going to have to stay awake I might as well learn something. I watched an A&E Program (or Science Channel, can't remember) called, "Who Killed Julius Caesar?" It was a fascinating program about a famous police investigator from Scotland Yard who investigates Julius Caesar's death. He really had nothing to go on except the written accounts of the murder from other Senators who were not part of the plot. He also used the talents of a German born Forensic Psychiatrist from Harvard. Together they determined that Caesar suffered from Temporal Epilepsy by reading the accounts of his mysterious illness that plagued him for years and caused him to have "fits". Hence the term seizure that we use today, named for "Caesar's fits". Julius knew his illness was progressing and he had started to lose control of his bodily functions during his "fits". He knew his time was nearly up and he would have to step down. In addition, it is recorded in accounts of several different Senators that Caesar was warned by multiple people of the murder plot against him. So what does it all mean? Well, let's see, Julius dismissed his body guards the day of the murder. Several weeks before his death he changed his will and adopted a son named Octavian. He left everything to him and enough money to every citizen of Rome to live for three months. I won't go into everything, but given all the evidence, it looks like Julius may have outsmarted all of them. He planned his own death, secured his place in history, and insured the survival of his legacy all by letting the murder plot succeed even though he knew it was about to happen. He even knew the date and time. Suicide by Senator.

The purpose to all this? I have often wondered how much of history as we know it is true. We make a lot of assumptions in writing history. Many times those assumptions are less than objective. We cycle them through our own prejudices and social mores of the time. I have come to believe over the years that most of our written history is fallacy. Most of the written history is based on the same oral tradition of learning that we have always had. By that I mean, that even though we claim to be an advanced society, we still do most of the educating and learning through oral communication. Oral communication is very prone to exaggeration and downright falsification. History is nothing more than writing down the stories others tell us. When it comes down to it, who knows what the truth really is? Just ask Julius Caesar.