Summary

Humans inherently create stories to explain natural phenomena, personal experiences, and the world around them, a trait that has persisted from ancient myths to modern-day interpretations.

Abstract

The article explores the human propensity for storytelling, rooted in our need to explain and make sense of the world. It illustrates how ancient cultures, like the Greeks with the myth of Demeter and Persephone, used stories to understand natural cycles such as the seasons. This myth-making behavior continues today as people create narratives for unexplained phenomena, often believing in modern myths without questioning their validity. The article suggests that this storytelling instinct is linked to the brain's left hemisphere, which constructs logical explanations, even when they are not based on fact. The text emphasizes that while these stories can be fascinating and serve to process information, they may not always reflect reality, highlighting the importance of recognizing the fictional nature of the narratives we create.

Opinions

The author believes that the need for explanations is so strong that even when faced with scientific facts, people still create stories to make sense of their experiences.
The article posits that myths, both ancient and modern, serve as a means to understand the human experience and the world, echoing Joseph Campbell's view of myths as essential to the soul.
It is the author's opinion that the left brain is adept at creating stories without the emotional and intuitive input from the right brain, which can lead to illogical narratives that are nonetheless believed to be true.
The author suggests that the human tendency to invent stories, even when they are incorrect, is a natural and often unnoticed process, as the brain's "interpreter" quickly constructs explanations for events.
The text implies that while storytelling can be self-serving, used to portray our lives in a favorable light, it is also a fundamental mechanism for processing information and understanding the world.
The author encourages a level of detachment from the stories we tell, recognizing them as constructs of the mind rather than absolute truths.

Why We’re Myth-Making Machines

We just can’t help creating stories

Sometimes, if I’m walking along the beach on a windy day and see the wind driving the sand into the sea, I imagine souls rushing back into the water in the pattern of the sand.

Crazy eh? Why do I feel the need to create a story about what I see? Is it because there has to be an explanation for everything?

Even though we have scientific reasons for why weather conditions happen, when I look at a beautiful rainbow or endure relentless rain for what feels like an eternity, I can understand why ancient people made up stories to explain what happens in nature. I get why they needed stories to make sense of their world.

Myths to explain Nature

The story of Demeter and Persephone is an excellent example of this type of myth. According to Greek mythology, Demeter was the goddess of agriculture, grain and harvest, who had a daughter named Persephone. Hades, the god of the underworld, fell in love with Persephone but Zeus, King of Gods, knew that Demeter would never let Hades marry Persephone, so he abducted her.

Demeter was so distraught that she caused winter to fall over the earth. Zeus eventually ordered Hades to return Persephone to her mother, but as Hades had persuaded Persephone to eat six pomegranate seeds while in the underworld, she had to spend six months of the year with him and then six months above the earth with her mother.

The story of Demeter and Persephone helped ancient people understand the changing seasons. In winter, we see Demeter’s grief in the barren earth. But as spring arrives and flowers begin to bloom, we know that Persephone is returning home.

And, just as Greek myths aren’t true but written to explain what happens in the world, many of our stories are constructed to make sense of what happens in our world. Joseph Campbell once said that myths are “the Salt of the Soul.” They offer a way to understand the human experience, to explain the world around us.

Modern Myths

We might smile knowingly at the old myths imagining that we know better, yet there are plenty of modern myths that we swallow whole. Take the myth that goldfish only have a 3-second memory. No one seems sure where this myth originated? Maybe it’s a balm to our conscience to believe that the fish can’t remember swimming in circles ad infinitum? But a study by researchers at the University of Seville report that the fish can develop and remember a mental picture of their environment. In a simple maze experiment, the fish could find their way to a goal from a start point using memory.

We believe and repeat many myths; that local honey cures hay fever, and a coin dropped from the top of the Eiffel Tower can kill someone on the pavement, for example. Somehow these stories become facts in our minds.

When we see something that doesn’t make sense, our first instinct is to try and find an explanation. No matter how unlikely the explanation may be, we still feel the need to try and make sense of what we’re seeing. And in many cases, the more bizarre the sighting, the more likely we are to invent a story to explain it. In some ways, this is just a natural part of human nature. We like stories, and we’re often drawn to stories that have a touch of the unusual about them. So when we see something that doesn’t fit into our everyday experience, it’s only natural that we would try to come up with a story that would help to make sense of it.

Part of the way we make up stories comes from how the brain is made up. Chris Niebauer, author of “No Self No Problem”, believes that the left brain is constantly making up stories to explain our experiences.

Left Brain Stories

The left brain, which is responsible for language and reason, can create stories without input from the right brain, which is responsible for emotion and intuition.

This story creation means that the stories we tell ourselves aren’t necessarily based on reality. They’re based on what the left brain thinks is logical and makes sense. And often, these stories aren’t logical at all.

The left brain interprets what we see and, unsurprisingly, the interpreter is often wrong. The stories it creates to explain the world using (hindsight and bias, for example) are stories we believe and act upon even though they may not be factual or logical.

Because the interpreter constantly seeks to explain events, we often don’t even realise that the stories it creates are just stories. We tend not to notice or question this process because it happens quickly within milliseconds.

“We all want to know exactly what happened during an event because explanations help us understand events even if those explanations aren’t true at all!” Chris Niebauer says”

I’m sure you can remember a time when you interpreted a situation and later realised you got it completely wrong? Years ago, an aunt told me to take my two-year-old daughter doctor because she felt that my daughter had a tic, a neurological problem. I could see that my daughter just needed her fringe cut.

We look at something and think we can see a pattern that isn’t there. We can imagine seeing faces in rocks and trees, Jesus on a slice of toast. We interpret what we see, however unlikely the explanation.

Why we Create Stories

It’s fascinating to think about all the different ways we invent fiction — in our personal lives, in the media we consume, and in the brands we buy into. Next time you’re telling a story (whether it’s true or not), take a moment to appreciate how your mind works overtime to spin a story that is both interesting and believable.

Sometimes, we tell these stories to make ourselves look good — to paint a rosy picture of our lives that isn’t always truthful. Other times, the stories we create are simply a way to process information and make sense of the world around us.

We’re always creating stories, it’s part of being human. Whenever you tell someone about your day, you’re telling a story. But it’s interesting to notice how we create these stories and not to get too attached to believing the stories are true.

Like the sand ‘souls’ rushing back into the sea, it sounds like a magical story, whereas, in reality, it’s just a windy day.