Storytelling: How We've Been Naturally Selected For It.
Why We Love A Good Yarn, In Scientific American:
Stories have such a powerful and universal appeal that the neurological roots of both telling tales and enjoying them are probably tied to crucial parts of our social cognition.
As our ancestors evolved to live in groups, the hypothesis goes, they had to make sense of increasingly complex social relationships. Living in a community requires keeping tabs on who the group members are and what they are doing. What better way to spread such information than through storytelling?
As our ancestors evolved to live in groups, the hypothesis goes, they had to make sense of increasingly complex social relationships. Living in a community requires keeping tabs on who the group members are and what they are doing. What better way to spread such information than through storytelling?
posted by Terry Glavin at 6:02 PM
2 Comments:
Ah yes, but are we socially cognitive creatures when so many of us pursue stories about people we don't know and will never meet, such as Paris Hilton et al? I'd like to see a scientific explanation for that malaise.
True. If only we could do without the obligatory hangover after a night of telling tales...
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