- I feel like people are pretty much the same across places and times.
- I feel like the ways in which people in the same time and place can have radically different preferences can be overwhelming
In undergrad I was taking a course on Greek plays on a lark, and got to hand it to the professor bc what he said that first day Still sticks with me all these years later. It's a sentiment I heard before but he simplified it Perfectly. He said, to paraphrase:
When studying history there are two contradictory but True thoughts you need to hold and remember at all time. 1. These people are Exactly like us. 2. These people are Nothing like us.