Puffin, the famed children's book publisher, enjoys a reputation as one of the premier publishers of children's books. Their titles include classics like The Wind in the Willows and Black Beauty, as well as the work of famed authors Judy Blume, Mike Lupica, and Roald Dahl. Puffin casts a long shadow over the world of children's book publishing; when Puffin makes a move, the industry takes notice. Recently, Puffin hired sensitivity readers to revise Roald Dahl's works, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches, and James and the Giant Peach, citing a need to update the books so that "they can continue to be enjoyed by all today."

Puffin, it seems, is not alone in its desire to update famous titles. Ian Fleming's Bond novels, owned by Ian Fleming Publications LTD, will reissue the famous spy's adventures with numerous changes that leave out words and descriptions that might offend today's readers.

While this trend is disturbing on its face, it points to an even more insidious problem, something that each generation struggles with in its own way. That problem is the tendency to engage in presentism. Put simply, presentism claims that only present things exist. When that claim is applied to history, the result is the mistaken belief that people in the present are inherently more intelligent and enjoy moral superiority over those who existed in the past. Thus, we have people who believe that they know better than Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming about what should and should not be included in their work.

Presentism is the box we stand on when we look down our noses at the backward, foolish, people who inhabited the past, and congratulate ourselves for outgrowing all the shortcomings that plagued society before we came along. Of course, the idea is pure hogwash, but that doesn't stop people from enthusiastically engaging in it at every opportunity.

The arrogance of presentism can lead to very poor outcomes, particularly in the business world. Ambitious young executives looking to make their mark reject the clearly successful practices of the past, and instead embrace new, untested ideas. Back in 1985, Coca Cola attempted to energize the anemic cola market by introducing a new formula for its flagship beverage. The furor over the change was unprecedented, and 79 days later, Coca Cola returned to its original formula under the new brand name "Coca Cola Classic."  Just because a thing is new doesn't necessarily mean it is better, any more that being old does. Rational thinking, research, and plain common sense will help a good businessman determine whether that shiny new thing is worth pursuing, or whether the tried and true is still getting the job done.

When the urge to engage in presentism strikes you, remember that everything we have today is built on the work of those who came before us. Their successes and failures are inherent in all facets of our lives, affecting the way we think and behave in ways we often don't notice. As Newton famously said, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." If we as a society decide to erase the past, we risk eroding our foundation. What happens when that foundation becomes sufficiently weakened?

Thanks to presentism, we should be smart enough to figure it out.

[Editor's Note; Apologies for the late posting. It got lost in a deluge of email that came the day after I had no email service for at least 12 hours.