Facts

Today, I read a review of a pop fiction book by a well-known blowhard who has a theory for everything. Such books are popular because they are accessible, not least because they have a simple story line. They are mostly written by non-experts and are so broad that they are more all-disciplinary than interdisciplinary. And, people lap them up because stories devoid of nuance are quite easy to follow. All facts are subordinated and even mangled in service of the simple theory and some authors even play fast and loose with them.
Writing analytical histories is bloody difficult as I am finding out while writing the first chapter of my thesis. For every fact that supports a particular theory, there seems to be a counterfact. Trying to find the connecting link in this maze of contradictory facts is like trying to grab a wet soap. It slips through your fingers as soon as you think you have got it. Which facts to focus on, which facts to overlook, which facts to tag as contradictory are all weighty decisions because a theory that fits all the facts is not a theory at all but a simple and infinitely long timeline of events. All of which makes the job extremely difficult but also extremely enriching. Trying to bring light to an obscure corner of the world may not be lucrative but it sure is fulfilling.


Which makes the job extremely difficult, but also