Usefulness and uselessness are a criterion for evaluating things. From the perspective of history and today, we need to understand the change and evolution of this evaluation standard first.

In different historical periods and social backgrounds, people have different definitions and values of usefulness and uselessness. So before answering this question, we need to discuss the significance and importance of usefulness and uselessness from the perspectives of history and today.

First, the historical perspective:

1. Time changes: With the development of history, great changes have taken place in social economy, science and technology and culture.

In the early historical period, people paid more attention to survival and reproduction, so the evaluation of usefulness was mainly based on the needs of survival and life, such as food, clothing, housing and transportation. With the progress of society, people began to pay more attention to the development of knowledge, skills and art, and the evaluation of usefulness and uselessness gradually expanded to a wider field.

2. Cultural inheritance: Different cultural backgrounds and values have different evaluations of usefulness and uselessness. In some cultures, personal contribution and utilitarianism are emphasized, and usefulness is defined as something that has a positive impact on society.

Such as labor, agriculture and handicrafts. In other cultures, more attention is paid to spiritual satisfaction and intrinsic value, and usefulness is linked to human wisdom, moral quality and aesthetic value.

3. Technological progress: With the continuous progress of science and technology, people's evaluation criteria for usefulness and uselessness have also changed. What used to be useful may have been replaced by new technology or new products today.

For example, handicraft products were gradually replaced by mechanization in the era of industrialization, but now they are facing the challenge of digitalization and intelligence. Therefore, the historical evaluation of usefulness and uselessness needs to consider the background of the times and the factors of technological development.

Second, today's perspective:

Practicality: In today's society, people pay more attention to the practicality of things. Useful and useless evaluation mainly depends on whether it can meet the needs of contemporary society. For example, in the field of work, the practicality of skills and knowledge is considered to be important, which can help people better adapt to career development and social changes.

2. Innovation: With the continuous progress of society, people's demand for innovation and change is growing. Therefore, from today's perspective, useful and useless evaluation is also related to innovation ability and creativity. Innovations that can bring about scientific, technological, cultural or social progress are considered more useful, while things that cannot adapt to the changes of the times or meet people's needs are considered useless.

3. Sustainable development: Under the background of globalization and increasingly prominent environmental problems, people pay more and more attention to whether the useful and useless evaluation conforms to the principle of sustainable development. What can promote the efficient use of resources, environmental protection and social welfare is considered more useful, and what has a negative impact on the environment or society is considered useless.