I'm a big fan of history, but - to extend the above analogy - reading various historians' speculation about Hadrian's motivations and those of his generals isn't particularly likely to give you any more knowledge applicable to every day life than reading speculation about the transfer strategies and tactical approaches of various modern football teams. You can use plenty of reasoning skills debating sport and deciding whether to believe press reports and fans' claims too!

Despite the old cliche, you're not particularly likely to be condemned to repeat mistakes made by Hadrian from not learning that aspect of ancient history, on account of not being a Roman emperor.