I loved Indiana Jones as a small child. At the age of 7, I proudly declared I was going to be an archaeologist and carried my textbook on Egyptian archaeology, myth and history with me AT ALL TIMES. I have held a true passion for history ever since. Though I didn’t exactly become Indian Jones, I am certainly a historian. A Decorative Arts Historian, to be exact — which in my mind makes me like the collections manager for Indiana Jones, I just avoid all of the dirt and ancient booby-traps.

After recently finishing my MA in the History of Decorative Art and marrying a scientist, I have come to the realization that I view and interact with the world differently from those (typically) around me. I walk into a space and immediately notice the different design aspects and the historical references made through those choices. Although everyone has a unique perspective on their surroundings stemming from their passions and dislikes, here are a few world perspective peculiarities as it applies to historians.

1. EVERYTHING has a story to tell.

Every piece of furniture, every building, every image, every teacup, and every event is steeped in history. Often times, when I sit down to have a meal at a new restaurant I drive my husband slightly crazy by investigating the dishes on our table, the light fixtures on the ceiling and walls, the chairs that we’re seated in, the flooring design, the wall texture — you name it and I’m awkwardly investigating.

I then proceed to obnoxiously point out discontinuities of design, inaccuracies if the location has a historic theme and, of course, to share anything exciting, frustrating, or curious to come of my investigations. I once launched into a monologue (due to ordering a bottle of French wine) on Sévres porcelain made for Marie Antoinette that brought me to excited tears while on a date in public with my, then, fiancé.

Us historians have no shame when it comes to our passions and we will stop at nothing to share the stories of our surroundings — or things that our surroundings remind us of — with any innocent bystanders.

2. Historical accuracy is seriously important. Seriously.

I can think of few things more rant-inducing to historians of all kinds than the wildfire-like spread of historic inaccuracy. History, like most subjects of research, is a science. New information about the past is discovered all the time that leads to better understanding of the world that came before the one we currently know.

Often those new discoveries prove old information incorrect, even information that has been systemically accepted as truth for decades. I cannot even tell you how often I have walked into a place of learning, such as a museum, historical society, or university, and found false historical information being distributed. Incorrect object labels, false facts on posters, etc, displayed for the masses to take in as truth.

To one who has dedicated his or her life to discovering and sharing the details of the past, there is nothing so insulting as lazy or misinterpreted research being disseminated and called fact. A perfect demonstration of the importance of historical accuracy can be found at the majority of upper-class American historical homes from the pre-Civil War era. The interpretation staff and board members in these types of historical houses have an all-too-common, nasty habit of glossing over slavery on the property. Many of these historic homes were once large plantations that would have enslaved tens or hundreds of slaves at any given time, if not more.

Instead of addressing this unsightly aspect of American history with frankness and respect, the interpretation of these historic sites often sounds and looks more like a monument to a rich white man and his family (and by family, I mean let’s not spend too much time talking about those females). If slavery on the property is even mentioned it tends to focus more on the kindness of the white master than the harsh and disturbing realities of one human being owning another and treating him or her like a piece of property. I think — read: hope — it is easy to see why historic accuracy as seen in this context is unarguably important. The same attention to truth and detail is required in all aspects of history. Accuracy is the difference between truth and ignorance. It’s not just about intelligence, it’s about deliberately displacing falsehood for truth so that the past is a tool for the future instead of a source of déjà vu.

3. Context, context, context.

As a historian, this is my absolute favorite. Historical context is SO IMPORTANT. Historical accuracy and context are the best of friends. Historical context is the understanding that events do not happen in a cultural or social vacuum. In the simplest form, historical context is the realization that one thing leads to another; sort of like a domino effect. Although, this is no way to predict future events.

For example: Jim Crow Laws. If we were to take these out of context there would be no possible way of understanding where such bigotry and racism came from and how a society could possibly avoid such neurotic tendencies in the future. Without setting Jim Crow in the larger American histories of the Civil War, slavery, the Confederacy, the Union, the economic depressions, the pure panic, paranoia, and deep-rooted anger that accompanied Civil War Reconstruction, just to mention a few, Jim Crow would not only not make any sense, but it would be utterly useless as a vehicle for understanding cultural and social evolution in America. Who knows how we got to such racial divide in America today? Well, thanks to historical context, we could sit down and piece it all together.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that events intrinsically make sense when placed within their proper historical frame. People are unpredictable, therefore history is unpredictable, so we need all the help we can get from historic context and accuracy.

Although I could go on for hours discussing the intricacies that lead to the particular world perspectives of historians, I think I’ll instead sum it up like this: We like old things and events, we like them even more when we learn about where they came from and what they led to, and we want to share those with you to inform the world. And, although I may be speaking less generally here, we’re weird, passionate, and nerdy to the core.