Mythology is older than Philosophy
- This led to story bias.
- We are trying to shape the details of the world history into a consistent story.
- But we simply build meaning into them afterward.
- Stories are dubious entities.
- They simplify and distort reality and filter things that don’t fit.
- Not one of the stories in a newspaper about a car accident explains the underlying root cause. Instead they tell the story where the driver came from, age and all.
Stories attract us; abstract details repel us.
- Consequently, entertaining side issues and back stories are prioritised over relevant facts.
- Lets take below two stories:
- a) “The king died, and the queen died”
- b) “The kind died, and the queen died of grief.”
Story A is a factual report and Story B has meaning.
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From our own life stories to global events, we shape everything into meaningful stories. Doing so distorts reality and affects the quality of our decision.
Remedy:
- Pick these apart.
- Ask yourself what are they trying to hide.
- Read old news paper, the events that look connected today weren’t so that time.
- Same with your life which has been a series of unplanned, unconnected events and experiences.
Whenever you hear a story, ask yourself who is the sender, what are his intentions and what did he hide under the rug.
The omitted elements might not be of relevance. But they might be even more relevant than the elements featured in the story.
The real issue with stories are they give false sense of understanding which inevitably leads us to take bigger risks and urges us to take a stroll on thin ice.