@cicerone imposter,
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Verbal history is not reliable, because of the change inherent in the transfer from one person to the next, and generation after generation.
How very true, Cicerone. Man's memory is imperfect and each of us perceive events differently, colored by one's emotion and one's bias, often subjectively. It is said Jesus walked on water, defying gravity. No one writing about this unusualness were around to witness this and after 3 days of decomposition, it was proclaimed Jesus rose from the dead, transformed, showing himself before his disciples. No one writing about this *miracle* observed this but those among us who choose to believe Jesus was the son of God will have no problem convincing themselves this did occur.
Any oral history should always be suspect unless there is documentation written down at the time to authenticate this.
Cicerone wrote:
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Even during trials, the witnesses that see a crime or accident see different things - that might even conflict with each other.
Now your above statement is an excellent example.
Cicerone wrote:
Quote:My only question would be, how reliable is oral history?
In my personal opinion, not much unless two people never having met each other repeated practically the same identical things with minor word adjustment or a similar scenario.
