Azar Gat once wrote that “History begins at the moment of recognition.” What does this mean? If we flip it and state that “History ends when we no longer perceive it,” then a picture begins to emerge. Death or dementia (whichever comes first) is that moment when History ends, whereas “memory” is where History begins. Thus, History happens only when we’re alive: History cannot happen without you. Thus, History, like ourselves, exists wholly in the present tense. History is NOT about the past, it is a study OF the past. For what purpose? To make sense of ourselves and our place in complex human societies. History helps answers the questions “who am I? How did I get here? Where can I go?”