The Storytelling Animal

Notes

• People can be made to think differently about sex, race, class, gender, violence, ethics, and just about anything else based on a single short story or television episode.
• same mental bin, we mix information gleaned from both fiction and nonfiction.
• But a close look at the Philbrick passage shows that writers are merely drawing, not painting. Philbrick gives us expert line drawings with hints on filling them in.
• It seems plausible that our continuous immersion in fictional problem solving would improve our ability to deal with real problems. If this is so, fiction would do so by literally rewiring our brains.
• The simulator theory is based on research showing that “realistic rehearsal of any skill . . . leads to enhanced performanc
• psychologists still found that people who consumed a lot of fiction outperformed heavy nonfiction readers on tests of social ability.
• In short, the storytelling mind is a factory that churns out true stories when it can, but will manufacture lies when it can’t.
• Kuleshov effect
• Psychologists are finding that ordinary, mentally healthy people are strikingly prone to confabulate in everyday situations.
• Conspiracy theories originate and are largely circulated among the educated and middle class.
• The world’s priests and shamans knew what psychology would later confirm: if you want a message to burrow into a human mind, work it into a story
• We have religion because, by nature, we abhor explanatory vacuums
• Human groups that happened to possess a faith instinct so thoroughly dominated nonreligious competitors
• Story enculturates the youth. It defines the people. It tells us what is laudable and what is contemptible. It subtly and constantly encourages us to be decent instead of decadent.
• Research results have been consistent and robust: fiction does mold our minds. Story—whether delivered through films, books, or video games—teaches us facts about the world; influences our moral logic; and marks us with fears, hopes, and anxiety
• But when we are absorbed in a story, we drop our intellectual guard. We are moved emotionally, and this seems to leave us defenseless.