Rethink: Why when narrative is sticky, facts don’t matter to the brain
How our reality is being constructed by others (specifically those in power)
This post is part 2 of Rethinking Shared Reality (You can find Part I here). This week we’re exploring how our reality is being constructed by others (specifically those in power)
Dear Rethinkers (and a warm welcome to lots of new subscribers!),
The other day, whilst sorting through boxes in my parents’ loft, I found an old notebook from my days studying Fine Art at Oxford. I’d dogeared one particular page with a quote scribbled on it:
“Our culturally adapted way of life depends upon shared meanings and shared concepts and depends as well upon shared modes of discourse for negotiating differences in meaning and interpretation.”
What interests and concerns me now, was clearly starting to bother me over twenty-five years ago.
The quote is by the great Harvard psychologist Jerome Bruner, who was a pioneer in the study of creativity. He was the first person who got me “thinking about thinking” and why this should be the key ingredient of any education. Bruner’s classic book The Acts of Meaning, written in 1993, explains how the mind processes information and is unbelievably relevant to read today.
He explains why we’re more likely to remember something when it is told as a story or a metaphor. When the narrative is sticky, facts don’t matter to the brain.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the damaging consequences to trust and well-being when our shared sense of reality vanishes. (Please read part one of this newsletter from last week.)
Read on to find out why without a shared factual reality, you can't have trust.
What’s changed
Once, intentionally constructed words or images largely belonged to poets, filmmakers, writers, and artists. Now it belongs to politicians, influencers, reality show characters, and wealthy entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. They create a highly crafted perception of shared reality on an epic scale. Not only has it become dead easy (with almost zero costs) to make our reality whatever we want it to be, but the manipulation of an image, video, or narrative is also now perceived to be fun and glamorous. A form of entertainment and power.
Putting on great performances and carefully curating your personal brand might be good for impressing and influencing others but what does it do to societal trust?
I realised how dire the consequences were of the exponential creation of false realities when I first saw the images of Donald Trump and his bloody ear after being shot. I confess, the first thoughts that ran through my mind was that these pictures were not real.
Words and images are now uncertain, constantly shifting like quicksand.
The erosion of shared reality breeds deep distrust.
No longer trusting anything we see
Take this photo from the Paris Olympics of Brazil’s Gabriel Medina celebrating mid-air after catching a large wave in the men’s surfing.
Do you think it’s real?
I didn’t. He’s hovering. The sky is like a perfect Turner Painting. His surfboard is way too upright.
But it is real. An incredibly iconic moment captured by photographer Jerome Brouillet. Isn’t it sad that we should question such a beautiful image?
Something to mull over:
In 2021 Nobel Prize Winner Maria Ressa said:
“Without facts, you can’t have truth. Without truth, you can’t have trust. Without trust, we have no shared reality, no democracy, and it becomes impossible to deal with our world’s existential problems...”
People fundamentally need to believe there is a shared factual truth to maintain trust in relationships, in institutions, and especially in experts, photos, and information.
Looking ahead
In his book, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, the British historian Edward Gibbon explained how the shattering of the Roman common worldview led to the emergence of a host of alternative religions — including Christianity, which eventually prevailed over other faith systems. In AD 476, people sought alternative sources of certainty and found it in religion. I think we’re at a similar turning point.
In the 21st century, we’re reaching towards a new type of certainty — a constructed narrative created by influencers, cults, podcasters, hate groups, or extreme politicians.
So the question (or challenge) that I’d love to hear your take on is this: where does this vanishing sense of shared reality take us?
Thursday chat topic (for paid subscribers):
Psychologist Jerome Bruner (mentioned at the beginning of this letter) was accused by other scientists of being a ‘flitter’ for studying all kinds of topics. He advocated more for “problem-finding,” than problem-solving. A modern-day rethinker indeed!
In our weekly chat thread for paid subscribers, we’ll share the ways we are “flitters” and our seemingly paradoxical interests that help us rethink the world around us. If you’re a paid subscriber, join us on Thursday.
Warmly,
Other news:
Thanks to Rethinker
who shared this relevant quote by Ilya Prigogine last week: "what we call reality is revealed to us only through an active construction in which we participate."Next week, we’ll be rethinking the vital role trust will play in the AI-powered future of work.
I am working on a project right now that is aimed at "truth" and "disinformation"...and the Nobel quote was perfect compliment to the thinking.
Anyone who says they know the outcome of all this is part of the problem. Thank you for enhancing the conversation around these scary "storytelling" times...