There are a lot of rules of thumb around database design and a lot of people get adamant to the point of "religious war" over defending them without really understanding the principles underlying the rule. There's a really awesome thread here where a guy is just asking why is OTLT so evil? There's a dozen people there saying "oh man, it's bad!" and one guy eventually giving a few realistic down-sides.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.