Where Do Bulgarians Come From—and Why Are We Still Fighting About It 1,500 Years Later?
Where do Bulgarians come from? And why are we still fighting about it 1,500 years later? History is now a different story. But what do historians think? Alexander Moshev is not afraid to provoke on matters of the past, while sticking to the rules of science. The past divides us the way only politics and sports can. Why? Can that change? Today's guest studies both the history of the Bulgarians and the way we try to explain and interpret it today. What does science know today about our origins as a people? Why, so many centuries later, do they become a pretext for “bloody” clashes online? Is the end of history approaching, and how will it be changed by the fact that each of us now leaves behind an enormous amount of data? We will also talk about the parallel “history” being born on the internet. About the forgotten heroes of the past. About how world fame fades and when it is worth seeking a different point of view.
02Did Einstein Bow to Danov? 12 Clichés of Bulgarian History
Europe's first Christian monastery, the world's oldest city, Einstein bowing to Petar Danov and Khan Tervel saving Europe: which of these popular claims about Bulgarian history hold up? The historian Alexander Moshev goes through 12 of the most widespread clichés, one by one, guided by the sources and by logic.
03Quiz: How Well Do You Know Bulgarian History? Will ChatGPT Trip You Up?
15 widely accepted claims about Bulgarian history and 15 invented by artificial intelligence. Can you tell them apart? Which is historical fact and which is nonsense?
04Can We Tell Historical Facts from ChatGPT's Fabrications? (The Results)
A full 1,910 people took part in the Digital Stories experiment, which set out to test how well we know Bulgarian history: can we tell undisputed historical facts from the textbooks from ones invented by an artificial intelligence out to mislead us? Thirty statements—half historically true, half dreamed up by the algorithms. The results, at least to me, are impressive and give plenty of food for thought: did the AI manage to trip up the participants, and do we really know the Bulgarian past, such an important subject today?
05What Should the Next Digital Story Be?
Can you think of a story that deserves to be told? Let me know, and if your idea becomes a piece here, you'll get a personal gift. Digital Stories turns three today! It's time to take stock of what has been achieved so far, time for you to have your say, and finally, time… for some unexpected news.
