“Photographs bring history to life in an immediate and visceral way,” Lisa Yaszek, a Regents Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech where she researches and teaches science fiction as a global language crossing centuries, continents, and cultures, told Bored Panda.

Yaszek explained how it’s different from exploring history through written sources. “When we read books, we get lots of detailed information about historical events: who was involved, where the event happened, what factors led to and resulted from it, and so on.”

Moreover, “Sometimes such information can be vividly detailed and prompt us to imagine what historical events might have looked like in ways that make us feel more connected to them, but sometimes we are so overwhelmed with dry or technical details that we actually feel more removed from the event than ever before,” the professor explained.

On the other hand, photos rarely have this problem. “Even when shot by the most amateur of photographers, images of people living in and through various moments in history provide a sense of immediate emotional connection—we think, ‘wow, so that’s what it would feel like to experience that moment of history!’” Yaszek explained.

The professor pointed out that “as the comments from posters on the ‘Exploring the Past through Historical Photos’ Reddit indicates, images of people from the past connect us to history in another, related way as well.”

In this sense, we’re not just mere viewers. Yaszek explained that “once we feel an emotional bond with the people in historical photos and perhaps even begin to imaginatively empathize with them—we forge new intellectual connections to history itself, asking ourselves: ‘Why are the people in this photograph in this situation in the first place? What happened leading up to this photo—and what happened afterward?’”

For viewers like us, this can be an empowering moment. “We begin to actively research and share what they know about events and people represented in specific photos,” Yaszek told us.

Moreover, looking at historical photographs is an opportunity to both learn history from experts and to become an expert yourself, Yaszek argues. It’s because they give us an opportunity to “work with others to re-create the real story behind the image.”

“Sometimes, especially powerful photos can even prompt action in the real world, as we even begin to wonder, ‘how much does my own historical era have in common with this moment from the past?’ and ‘what can I do to make sure we do—or do not!—ever experience something like this again?’ And so by looking at historical photos, we can become agents of history!” the professor told us.