Can Storytelling Help with Survival?

My take is yes. Absolutely. Without a doubt. Here’s why.

Years ago, I read a research article from Scientific American that was a postulating that there are two distinct ways that the way the human brain works is different from an animal’s brain. They are nested scenario building, and our urge to connect.

Nested scenario building is essentially our ability to experience something once or hear something/see ourselves doing it in our minds, adding context around various potential outcomes, and then executing on contingencies. This makes it clear to me that all humans are naturally programmed to survive. If you read the article, there is a really interesting study that was conducted that proved this point. Apes and children were shown a reward that would slide down a tube and come out the end. If they put their hands out at the end of the tube, they would then catch the reward. Nearly all of the apes and children were able to do it without issue. As soon as the researchers introduced an upside down Y-shaped funnel, the apes only ever covered one end of the tube, resulting in only catching the reward about half the time. But the children for the most part put their hands under both exit points, ensuring that they caught the reward no matter where it came out.

But the second and compelling distinction was the human urge to connect with each other. To learn from each other and share our thoughts. Ever since we were tiny tots, we were told stories to keep us out of harm’s way (Grimm’s fairytales, for example). And these stories helped provide the context that informed potential outcomes during nested scenario building. Without the ability to share knowledge and learn from each other, we would have never made it out of the caves. So my hope is to continue to share helpful stories that will help with your survival journey. Stay safe out there!

Source: This article was originally published with the title “Inside Our Heads” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 319 No. 3 (September 2018), p. 42
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0918-42