People have a different perception of history in the same sense, based on their personal perception of reality and whatever perception of that past reality their perception is based upon. History is a work of fiction, based on facts, relationships, and events that are forced together into a story that one particular person likes and thinks other will like. People have the capacity to perceive the present because they are a part of it. Even though each person has their own perception of the present, they each possess a working understanding of the time that they are living in. A problem arises when people attempt to impose their understanding of the present on what they think they know of the past.
People even try to interpret the past to help predict and understand the future.
If people believe that history repeats itself they will force evidence to fit that schema. Another reason why understanding history is futile is because it is impossible to formulate an entire history based upon the a few facts and knowledge that, in turn, is based upon someone else s perception. The main products of society are the arts and the media. It is impossible to grasp even an outline of our social structure from society s products. The problem is that none of these things reflect our society, and not even the combination comes close to an acceptable viewpoint.