This really captures the shift from collecting records to actually understanding a life. The idea that different record types reveal different dimensions and that meaning only emerges when you read them together, feels especially important. It’s a good reminder that history isn’t just evidence, but interpretation.
So true. And I keep finding that the interpretation piece is the one that either stops me or pushes me forward. It wasn't until AI that I could get real help with it.
I need to try this. I'm working on a story about the businesses my great grandfather and his brothers owned in 1910-1940 in New York City. I've collected a lot of material and I put a list of addresses, dates, and business info into a spreadsheet that I gave to chat GPT and it was really interesting but I would love to try this Claud Cowork where I can just have it read all the files in a folder because there's so much more to glean! My family wants the story of this part of our family history so I hope to make a gift book for them.
This really captures the shift from collecting records to actually understanding a life. The idea that different record types reveal different dimensions and that meaning only emerges when you read them together, feels especially important. It’s a good reminder that history isn’t just evidence, but interpretation.
So true. And I keep finding that the interpretation piece is the one that either stops me or pushes me forward. It wasn't until AI that I could get real help with it.
exactly! It merges things together and allows you to work out and interpret what’s going on.
I need to try this. I'm working on a story about the businesses my great grandfather and his brothers owned in 1910-1940 in New York City. I've collected a lot of material and I put a list of addresses, dates, and business info into a spreadsheet that I gave to chat GPT and it was really interesting but I would love to try this Claud Cowork where I can just have it read all the files in a folder because there's so much more to glean! My family wants the story of this part of our family history so I hope to make a gift book for them.