The Pertinence of the Past in Computing the Future

I was told by higher authority to talk about the pertinence of the past, or to put it crudely and in the way I think it was meant, to talk about “what possible use is there in history.” I have every intention of obeying my instructions, but I am going to do it in my own way, which is a way I learned from the Queen in Through The Looking Glass. She was telling Alice that it was a great advantage to have a memory that worked both ways.