We study history not to know the future but to widen our horizons, to understand that our present situation is neither natural nor inevitable, and that we consequently have many more possibilities before us than we imagine. 我们之所以研究历史，不是为了要知道未来，而是要拓展视野，要了解现在的种种绝非自然，也并非无可避免。未来的可能性远超过我们的想象。
— 尤瓦尔·赫拉利 《人类简史：从动物到上帝》