The Psychological Comforts of Storytelling

Why, throughout human history, have people been so drawn to fiction?

By Cody C. Delistraty

    The oldest story in the world is “The Epic of Gilgamesh”, and it has all the trappings of a modern story: a protagonist who goes on an arduous journey, a romance with a seductive woman, a redemptive arc, and a full cast of supporting characters. Humans have been telling stories for thousands of years, sharing them orally even before the invention of writing. In one way or another, much of people’s lives are spent telling stories, which can be a way for humans to feel that we have control over the world. They allow people to see patterns where there is chaos, meaning where there is randomness. Humans are inclined to see narratives where there are none because it can afford meaning to our lives—a form of existential problem-solving.

    In a 1944 study conducted at Smith College, 34 students were shown a short film in which two triangles and a circle moved across the screen and a rectangle remained stationary on one side of the screen. When asked what they saw, 33 of the 34 students anthropomorphized the shapes and created a narrative: The circle was “worried,” the “little triangle” was an “innocent young thing,” the big triangle was “blinded by rage and frustration.” Only one student recorded that all he saw were geometric shapes on a screen.

    But why start telling stories in the first place? One theory is that storytelling could be an evolutionary mechanism that helped keep our ancestors alive. The theory is that if I tell you a story about how to survive, you’ll be more likely to actually survive than if I just give you facts. For instance, if I were to say, “There’s an animal near that tree, so don’t go over there,” it would not be as effective as if I were to tell you, “My cousin was eaten by a malicious, scary creature that lurks around that tree, so don’t go over there.” A narrative works off of both data and emotions, which is significantly more effective in engaging a listener than data alone.

    The value humans place on narrative is made clear in the high esteem given to storytellers. Authors, actors, directors—people who spin narratives for a living are some of the most famous people in the world. Stories are a form of escapism, but there seems to be something more at play. Perhaps the real reason that we tell stories again and again—and endlessly praise our greatest storytellers—is because humans want to be a part of a shared history.

Adapted from: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/11/thepsychological-comforts-of-storytelling/381964/. Access in: 17 June 2022.

    Chile’s Atacama Desert is known for its beauty, wildlife, starry night skies and amazing hot air balloon rides. Now it’s also becoming infamous for its dunes of discarded fast fashion.

    Up to 59,000 tons of unsold clothes make their way from the U.S. and Europe to the Iquique Port in Northern Chile’s Atacama Desert every year, according to an Aljazeera estimate. The idea is to sell the clothes in Latin America. But only about 20,000 tons of the clothes leave Chile. What’s left in the Zona Franca de Iquique, or tax-free import zone, winds up piled up in illegal desert landfills or burned.

    Clothing takes hundreds of years to biodegrade, if it ever does at all. Many municipal landfills won’t take textiles because chemicals they contain seep into the ground and cause problems.

    Some of the other problems with fast fashion — child labor, terrible working conditions and outrageous water consumption — were already common knowledge among people who care about such things.

    But the idea of piles of cheap, vibrantly colored clothing journeying from China to the U.S. and then to an enormous desert in South America is mind-bogglingly bizarre and wrong. One recycling project, Ecofibra Chile, is working with importers to remove textile waste and transform it into thermal insulation panels. Other local groups are trying to get funds to address the problem of discarded clothing with heavy machinery to remove the clothes and recover public spaces, starting with areas closest to cities. Of course, there will still be the problem of where to relocate all those hoodies and dresses.

Teresa Bergen. Fast fashion stacks up in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Internet: www.inhabitat.com (adapted)

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Bolsa Família - a decade of social inclusion in Brazil A decade debunking myths and exceeding expectations

    In 2003, the Bolsa Família Program (BFP) was taking its first steps, with a broad set of challenges still ahead. Its objectives were to contribute to the social inclusion of families constrained by extreme poverty by providing immediate relief to their situation, and to stimulate improvements to their education and health, in order to cease the intergenerational cycle of poverty reproduction. It was necessary to unify existing sectoral programs of cash transfer, consolidate the Unified Registry for Social Programs (Cadastro Único para Programas Sociais – CadÚnico), create a federal strategy for its management, monitor the conditionalities and ensure supply and access to basic services. Ten years later, the objectives were fully achieved and, in most cases, surpassed. Based on its wide coverage, excellent focus and significant impacts on the living conditions of the population, the success of the BFP is evident

Adaptado de: CAMPELLO, T.; NERI, M.C. (org). Bolsa Família Program – a decade of social inclusion in Brazil – Executive Summary. Brasília: IPEA, 2014. Disponível em: https://www.ipea.gov.br/portal/index.php?option=com_content&view=a rticle&id=21864. Acesso em 20 out. 2021.

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An e-mail to Mary

    Hi, Mary!

    How are you? I miss you so much!

I arrived in Rome last week and I’m having a lot of fun. This morning my parents and I woke up at 8:00 and had a great breakfast at the hotel. Afterwards, I walked a little and saw many tourists (many from Russia and China) and even some famous people!

Now we are going to Venice.
How are things in Las Vegas? Come meet us!
See you soon!
Paul.