Day 83: Why We Tell Stories

Today I watched a panel discussion on the science of story-telling. Part of the World Science Festival, the panel includes 3 scientists and 2 authors (Joyce Carol Oates and Jeffery Eugenides), doing a great job of dissecting story telling analytically and abstractly. It's an amazing conversation and it's given me a lot to think about.

I stumbled upon it because of its title, "Why We Tell Stories: The Science of Narrative". I love exploring stories and their role in our culture, but I was worried it'd be too sciency and dry for my taste. My fears quickly subsided when I saw that Eugenides and Oates were on the panel. I read 'Middlesex' last year after millions of people told me to read it, and it was even better than I expected. I knew both of these authors are the kinds of people I'd want to delve into stories on stage.

Author/paisley shirt advocate 

Before the panel began, the audience was treated to a short improv set by NYC's UCB theater. They were brought on to show how stories can be created instantly and still be interesting. This was, without a doubt, the crappiest improv set I've seen in years. Worse then open mic night at the basement bars here in Chicago. Maybe I'm overly critical because I'm living knee deep in good improvisers these days, and I spend most of my free time watching it. I was especially disappointed because UCB is famous for being bold and intellectual, and I thought they'd be the perfect fit for the World Science Fest. But they instead came out and did some of the broadest, most bland improv I could imagine being created. It was laughable how bad it was! The monologist broke every basic rule of improv within his first 4 mins (apologizing for your creation, negation, etc). I think they were just nervous.

The discussion covers some really interesting topics. Why do humans care about stories? Made up tales of fictitious characters that we know don't exist- where is the pull? Why can we find stories, specifically narratives, in every culture around the world since the start of civilization? What are the elements found in the narrative that has helped them survive and thrive over the last 10,000 years?

The scientists on the panel, mainly child and cognitive psychologists, claim that stories stoke something deep within the human brain, citing MRI research that shows the brain reacts differently when reading certain books compared to others, or doing other activities. (Choice quote from Eugenides, "I'd like to see an MRI of a brain reading 'Anna Karenina' versus a brain reading 'Mein Kampf' and see if there are any similarities, or if one is full of sludge")

The panel goes on to discuss what constitutes a story. Children can create elaborate tales based on household objects. When stories are sheared down to its most basic parts, what are we left with? We are shown some interesting research that have been conducted that show our brains require very little information to create stories.

Overall, this gave me a lot to think about regarding the role of stories in our life. Like the best documentary, it inspires me to go out and learn more (and to read more of Eugenides and Oates) It also makes me want go see some improv to get this shitty set out of my brain.

You can watch it here:

http://worldsciencefestival.com/webcasts/science_narrative

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