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“Dunbar’s number” is a theoretical cognitive limit on the number of stable social relationships humans can maintain at one time. According to Robin Dunbar, a British anthropologist, humans have the cognitive capacity to keep track of somewhere around 150 close personal connections. Beyond this limited circle, we start treating people less like
... See moreJosh Kaufman • The Personal MBA: A World-Class Business Education in a Single Volume
A 2010 study by Dr. Mar found a similar result in preschool-age children: the more stories they had read to them, the keener their theory of mind — an effect that was also produced by watching movies but, curiously, not by watching television.
Annie Murphy Paul • Opinion | Your Brain on Fiction (Published 2012)
storytelling may function as a mechanism to disseminate knowledge by broadcasting social norms to coordinate social behaviour and promote cooperation.
The type of knowledge in question is “meta-knowledge” – information about other people’s knowledge. This is, in fact, required for any society to function.
The type of knowledge in question is “meta-knowledge” – information about other people’s knowledge. This is, in fact, required for any society to function.
Daniel Smith • Why do we tell stories? Hunter-gatherers shed light on the evolutionary roots of fiction
It’s testament to the powers of the storytelling brain that many psychologists argue that human language evolved in the first place in order to tell tales about each other.
Will Storr • The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better
Like Tom Sawyer whitewashing the fence, authors trick readers into doing most of the imaginative work. Reading is often seen as a passive act: we lie back and let writers pipe joy into our brains. But this is wrong. When we experience a story, our minds are churning, working hard.
Jonathan Gottschall • The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human
Good stories are explorations of the human condition; thrilling voyages into foreign minds.
Will Storr • The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better
Dunbar is an anthropologist at the University College of London, who wrote a paper on Co-Evolution Of Neocortex Size, Group Size And Language In Humans where he hypothesizes: " ... there is a cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable relationships, that this limit is a direct function of relative... See more