Sarah Gibbard Cook
  • Home
  • About
  • Writing
  • Contact

Hardwired for Story

12/13/2021

4 Comments

 
Picture
The story season is upon us. Once again, remotely or in person, we share beloved tales to help fend off the darkness. Ancient stories tell of lamps burning eight days and wise men following a star. Year after year, the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes larger, and Linus suggests the scraggly tree just needs a little love.

Stories grab our attention, engage the emotions, and stick in the memory more efficiently than dispassionate reasoning. They are quicker and easier to process. They prime us for the hormones to hug a child or run from danger. We evolved that way for survival. Our prehistoric ancestors used narrative to learn from each other's experience and pass that learning down through generations.
 
Not all stories are equal. Some glorify violence, perpetuate false conspiracy theories, or widen the gap between ingroup and outgroup. When such a story comes up over the holiday table, citing data or logic alone won’t get you far. Consider responding to story with story. Your personal anecdote may not change minds either, but it might begin to open a heart. That’s how we are wired.

​Image: Sir John Everett Millais, The Boyhood of Raleigh, 1870. National Gallery. Walter Raleigh and his brother listen to an old sailor’s tales of adventure.
4 Comments
Rebecca link
12/13/2021 07:35:51 pm

Thanks, Sarah. Nice reminder that writing literature is important work. In a recent conversation, two people bragged that they didn't remember the last time they read a book. I was agog. I'm sure they're still getting stories, through tvs and phones. But as Noam Chomsky says, we need to be very careful of the stories we consume, because they will define us.

Reply
Sarah Cook link
12/14/2021 07:12:28 am

Rebecca, I love the Noam Chomsky quote, which I hadn't heard before. It is certainly true for me, especially the books I loved as a child. People bragging about the last time they read a book? How bizarre. Most of the books I read are pretty lightweight, I'll admit, but I couldn't imagine life without them.

Reply
Kate Fletemeyer, aka Evelyn Ann Casey link
12/16/2021 09:35:40 am

"Responding with story" clicked for me! I was going into the grocery the other day wearing my mask. A man got out of his car, grunted, and said, "Really? Still masking?" I told him, "Once upon a time, I had cancer. Some things you can't prevent. Some things you can." He pulled out his mask and put it on - and said, "Sorry."

Reply
Sarah Cook link
12/17/2021 06:37:41 am

Wow! Kate, this is a powerful story. And an affirmation that our stories are worth telling, regardless of reaction, because you never know which time the story will hit home.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    I'm a historian who writes novels and literary nonfiction. My home base is Madison, Wisconsin. 

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

    RSS Feed


      ​get updates

    Sign up
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About
  • Writing
  • Contact