Wednesday, June 06, 2012

World Science Festival - Why We Tell Stories: The Science of Narrative


Here is another fun discussion from the recent World Science Festival - this one looks at the science of narrative, or why we tell stories. And if we do anything well as humans, we tell stories, to ourselves, to our friends and family, and to the culture as a whole.



Why We Tell Stories: The Science of Narrative

Jay Allison, Paul Bloom, Jeffrey Eugenides, Jonathan Gottschall, Joyce Carol Oates, Keith Oatley, The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre



Stories have existed in many forms—cave paintings, parables, poems, tall tales, myths—throughout history and across almost all human cultures. But is storytelling essential to survival? Join a spirited discussion seeking to explain the uniquely human gift of narrative—from how neurons alight when we hear a tale, to the role of storytelling in cognitive development, to the art of storytelling itself, which informs a greater understanding of who we are as a species.

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