We are all slaves to "Because"
The power of stories on our psyche is incredible.
It’s my friend’s birthday, and I have been invited to a close group get-together. I got busy the whole day and didn’t get time to buy her a gift, so I improvised. I pick up a USD 10 odd trinket at Day to Day, get it packed, and reach the party with an elaborate story cooked for the gift I have in hand.
“It’s limited-edition jewelry with stones sourced from the Amazon forest, made by local tribes that go deep into the jungles for hunting”
The story had the desired effect on her, and she was thrilled to receive the gift and was very grateful for the entire night. I was happy to see her reaction, and others looked at me in awe. She was equally graceful when I eventually broke the news to her that it was from Day to Day. It still makes both of us laugh when we talk about it.
But if you think about it, the joy on her face was not due to receiving the gift alone; it came from the story that came along.
Our minds are transported into the world woven into the story, taking us along for the ride, smelling the air, and feeling the breeze in the deep parts of the Amazonian forest.
The same tendency makes us look for stories, patterns, and causes—that make the world seem less random and more in control.
It’s this very tendency that makes us seek ‘precise’ answers to questions like -
Why did the markets fall yesterday?
Why did COVID happen in the first place?
Why was that candidate selected for the role?
Why did Donald Trump lose the elections in 2020?
Why did Russia attack Ukraine, or Israel blow up buildings in Gaza?
‘Precise’ answers are not possible, but we can make answers sound precise, inspite the many variables, historical context, and uncertainties surrounding the events unfolding on the ground.
The mind craves stories and patterns, and we know this subconsciously, which makes us dish out answers using the word “because” e.g.
Markets went down because inflation was high
Donald Trump lost because voters wanted change
Russia attacked Ukraine because of threat from NATO
COVID happened because of a lab leak in Wuhan, China
Walter R. Fisher, an academic, had even proposed ‘homo narrans’ (storytelling man) as an important addition to the list representing the nature of humankind. It includes homo sapiens (wise man), home economicus (rational man), and home faber (philosophical man).
Nassim Taleb suggests the Andrey Nikolayevich Rule, which says that in real-world economic life, we are faced with a lot of information that is costly to obtain, store, manipulate, and retrieve. As a result, we simplify:
We reduce the dimensions of life through the use of stories.
Why would most fables begin with the statement “once upon a time…” These four words have a hypnotizing effect on readers, capturing their attention and taking them along the chapters that follow. Stories have been used to pass on messages, values, culture, history, religion, recipes, and much of what our society is made of today.
Some stories uplift and empower people, while others have tormented people and societies for generations. We cannot wish them away, but we can accept the effectiveness of stories and use them to our advantage as follows -
As a Listener
Be aware that the world isn’t as predictable as it seems
Don’t buy into clean-looking patterns or stories being served to you
Understand the role of chance, luck, and probabilities in how events shape
Get the message in the story instead of believing the story as absolute truth
As a Messenger
Pass on a message always in a narrative context or a story format
“Let me share with you what happened a few days back” is a good way to start
Distinguish between the correlation of variables appearing as causative events
Understand the historical context of situations before answering questions with “because” with precise-sounding answers
Gustave Le Bon once stated profoundly -
“The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim. An individual in a crowd is a grain of sand amid other grains of sand, which the wind stirs up at will.”
Beware of stories, and at the same time communicate in stories.
It’s nuanced and, hence, sounds ironic, but stories hold our attention like nothing else does. Hence, use it to your advantage, and don’t let others take advantage of you.
Wishing you a fantastic weekend🍹
And sending you loads of love and luck🧿
Manish