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People

The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know.

— Harry S. Truman

An open book has aged, crumbling pages on the left and clean blank pages on the right against a cream background.
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Behind the line May contain spoilers.

Our reading

An editorial interpretation.

Something can feel new simply because you haven't learned its history. The remark turns novelty into a gap in knowledge rather than a feature of the world. It invites a second look at surprises, suggesting that an older example may already exist.

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