by Will Storr
Bransford, Professor John, 180–1
Brown, Dan, The Da Vinci Code, 189
Bruner, Professor Jerome, 120
Brunetière, Ferdinand, 179, 185
Brydon, Rob, 134–5
Bukowski, Charles, Post Office, 76–7
Callis, Jamie, 183
Campbell, Joseph, ‘Monomyth’, 5, 6, 63, 68, 139, 169, 186
Camus, Albert, The Outsider, 15
cause and effect: brain, 190; created by brain, 26, 49, 51–5, 63, 110–13, 158; and Eastern fiction, 82–3; and individual personalities, 71; in modernist stories, 129; and multiple models of self, 119; narrative, 190; and origin damage, 174–5; of other people, 56–7, 68; plot structures, 52–5, 63, 185, 187, 190; tribal master-stories, 152–8, 159–62; and two levels of consciousness, 120–30, 170; and Western individualism, 81; see also beliefs
Chandler, Raymond, The Big Sleep, 45
change: brain’s detection of, 11–12, 13, 17, 22–3, 26–7, 39, 53–5, 63, 189–92; cultural understandings of, 81–2, 83; and dreams, 26–7; significance in storytelling, 11–12, 13–17, 53–5, 63, 68, 189–92, 224–5, 230
characters, fictional: antiheroes, 163–8; in fairytales, 117; and the final battle, 191–2; and five domains of personality, 69–72, 73–4, 218; and goal-direction, 182, 185; hard and clear decisions about, 209–10; heroes in archetypal stories, 141, 144–5, 154, 182, 191–2; kind people as boring, 162–3; need for focus on, 5–6, 7, 76–7, 101–3, 122–3, 206, 210–16; our feelings towards our own, 209–10; resistance to focus on, 210–16; story endings, 192–3, 194–8, 228–9, 230–1; transformation, 186, 196; see also flawed protagonists; the dramatic question
Charles, Prince, 146–147
Chazelle, Damien, 195
childhood: adolescent narrative-making process, 84, 157, 163, 174–6; affectionate touch from parents, 173–4; and cultural norms, 79–80, 82, 84; origin damage, 170–6, 215–17; play and stories, 79–80, 84, 163; and shifts in selfhood, 116–17; thirst for knowledge, 17, 56
chimpanzees, 144–5, 159, 161
China, Ancient, 81, 82
Christie, Agatha, 19
cinema: famous lines of dialogue, 133; Hitchcock on, 14; Hollywood movies, 192; David Lynch’s art-house films, 54; Pixar animation studio, 187; predefined plot structures, 5; and saccadic behaviour, 22, 40; Soviet, 52; use of salient detail, 40
Citizen Kane (fim, 1941), 56, 72, 99–100, 107–9, 148, 170–1, 207–8
Cole, Professor Steve, 184
Collins, Suzanne, The Hunger Games, 14
colour, 21, 25–6
comedy, 38, 186, 195, 230
Confucius, 81
Conrad, Joseph, 37
control: brain’s ‘theory of’, 65–8, 70, 85–92, 123, 124–30, 131–2, 148–51, 169–70, 172, 193–8, 221–5; collective theory of, 81, 82–3, 137–8; and human sociality, 35–6, 56, 202; individualistic notion of, 80–2, 83; as mission of the brain, 12–13, 17, 48–9, 65–8, 79, 90–2, 100–1, 148–51, 159–62, 168–9, 172, 193–8, 221–5; and tribal stories, 155–7, 159–62; and untrue beliefs, 92–3
‘Cosmic Hunt’ myth, 50
cultural appropriation arguments, 201
culture, 78–9, 90–1; and childhood, 79–80, 82, 84; collective ideal of self, 81, 82–3, 137–8; individualism in Ancient Greece, 80–2
Cunningham, Michael, A Home at the End of the World, 44
curiosity, 17–19; about human behaviour, 33, 35, 56–7, 68; and information gaps, 18, 19–20, 190
Dahl, Roald, The Twits, 162
Dancer in the Dark (von Trier film, 2000), 140–1, 194
Davies, Russell T., 86
detective stories, 19, 102, 190
The Devil Wears Prada (film, 2006), 53
dialogue, 87, 132–5
Dickens, Charles, 37; A Christmas Carol, 46–7, 128; Oliver Twist, 146
Diderot, Denis, 46
the dramatic question: answered in closing scenes, 128–9, 171, 194, 195–6; characters as surprise to themselves, 112–14, 117–19, 120–3; in Fifty Shades of Grey, 188–9; and the final battle, 191–2; and goal-direction, 185; as key secret to storytelling, 108–9, 142, 168; origin and purpose of, 136–42; and our inner voice/narrator, 109–12; and sacred flaw approach, 210, 225, 230, 231; triggering of, 176; and two levels of consciousness, 120–30, 131–2
dreams, 26–7, 50, 54
drives, human: connect and dominate drives, 142–8; desire for status, 142–52, 153–4, 155–62; goal-direction, 84, 179–85, 226–8; as products of evolution, 135–8, 179–80
Eagleman, Professor David, 21, 115
Earth First, 98–9
empathy, 62, 145, 146–7, 163–8
The Epic of Gilgamesh, 156
epileptics (‘split-brain’ patients), 110–11
Epley, Professor Nicholas, 36, 94, 111
ethics and morality: and beliefs, 92–3, 94–100, 201–2; childhood play as critical, 79–80; ‘costly signalling’, 141, 151; and culture, 78–9, 90–1, 136; moral outrage as lifeblood of storytelling, 2, 137–9, 140–2, 147–8, 154–5, 160–2; selfless–selfish axis, 138–42
evolutionary science, 12, 33–5, 86, 135–8, 142, 179–80
existence, meaninglessness of, 1–2
eyesight and vision, 21–4, 25–6; saccades, 22, 27, 39, 40, 174
Ezra (Old Testament scribe), 153–4, 155, 160
faces, 13, 35, 52, 162
fairytales, 36, 116–17, 163, 192
fantasy and science-fiction stories, 31–2
Fante, John, Ask the Dust, 118
feelings and impulses: connect and dominate drives, 142–8; disgust, 161–2; humiliation, 151–2, 160, 161; moral outrage, 137–9, 140–2, 147–8, 154–5, 160–2; and moral self-justification, 94–100; and neural activations, 41–4; our inner voice/narrator, 21, 77, 109–12, 114–16, 198, 199–200; towards our fictional characters, 209–10; tribal emotions, 136–42, 200–2, 224; and two levels of consciousness, 119–22
Feinberg, Dr Todd, 24, 116
Fernyhough, Professor Charles, 37
Flaubert, Gustave, Madame Bovary, 102, 223
flawed protagonists, 62, 71, 76, 147, 156; antiheroes, 163–8; Charles Foster ‘Citizen’ Kane, 72, 99–100, 107–9, 170–1, 207–8; confabulation, 113–14, 130; and confirmation bias (model-defending behaviour), 89–92, 149–50, 194, 218–19; contradiction and multiplicity, 117–19, 120–30, 131–2, 134–5; delusions, 107–8, 109–14, 148–51, 197; and the final battle, 191–2; healing process, 128, 208, 230–1; and home environments, 73–5; in King Lear, 148–51; Lawrence of Arabia, 123–9, 208, 214–15; model of the world breaking apart, 100, 103, 122, 125–7, 149–51, 194, 208; obstacles and breakthroughs, 89–90; origin damage, 170–3, 215–17; point of view, 76–8, 220–1; and ‘rampant irrationality’, 206–9; ‘sacred flaws’, 207–9, 219; Stevens in The Remains of the Day, 65–8, 72, 91–2, 98, 100–1, 172–3, 190–1, 195–6, 207, 216; as surprise to themselves, 112–14, 117–19, 120–3; and theory of control, 68, 90–2
flaws (distortions in cognition), 131–2, 147, 156; confabulation, 109–12; and confirmation bias (model-defending behaviour), 85–92, 158, 160–2, 169–70; consolation of story, 202–3; internalised, 176; as largely invisible to us, 63, 64–5, 169, 175; lesson of story, 202; ‘makes sense stopping rule’, 86; multiple models of self, 114–19; ‘naive realism’, 64–5; and origin damage, 168–76, 215–17; our inner voice/narrator, 21, 77, 109–12, 114–16, 198, 199–200; as part of our perception, 62–3, 84
Flesch, Professor William, 141, 152
Flynn, Gillian, Gone Girl, 96–7, 152, 216–17
Franzen, Jonathan, The Corrections, 15–16
Freytag, Gustav, 187
Frith, Professor Chris, 198
Gardner, John, 7
Gazzaniga, Professor Michael, 61, 110–11, 116
genocide and massacres, 96, 158, 160
Gimbel, Professor Sarah, 87
Gladwell, Malcolm, ‘The Ketchup Conundrum’, 20
go
al-direction, 84, 179–85, 226–8
Goldman, Bo, 128
Goldstein, Dr Kurt, 115–16
Gosling, Professor Sam, 73
gossip, 2, 137–8, 140, 141–2, 143
Gottschall, Professor Jonathan, 26–7
grammar, 28–9
grandparents, 2
Greece, Ancient, 80–2, 148
Greene, Graham: The Power and the Glory, 97; The Quiet American, 45
Greenpeace, 99
Grenville, Kate, The Idea of Perfection, 113–14
Hadid, Zaha, 75
Haidt, Professor Jonathan, 3, 157, 206–7
hallucinations, 23, 24
Hamsun, Knut, Hunger, 130
Hargeaves, Roger, Mr Nosey, 156
Heller, Zoë, Notes on a Scandal, 73–4
hero-maker narratives: and Aristotle’s eudaemonia, 184; and beliefs, 3–4, 92–100, 108–9, 162, 169, 171, 176, 181–2; clash of competing narratives, 98; and control, 193–8; and ‘costly signalling’, 141, 151; David and Goliath stories, 98–100; and delusions, 95–6, 109–12, 176; and the dramatic question, 108–9; and goal-direction, 84, 179–85, 226–8; lesson of story, 202; and moral self-justification, 94–100, 109, 176; and online gaming, 182–3; personality, 171; re-scripting of past, 93–4, 176; and sacred flaw approach, 219–20; selfless–selfish axis, 138–42; and status play, 144–8; tribal master-stories, 153–4; and tribal warfare, 162; and two levels of consciousness, 120
hierarchies, human, 143–4, 160
Highsmith, Patricia, Ripley’s Game, 167
Hill, Eric, Where’s Spot?, 14, 15, 18
Hitchcock, Alfred, 14
Hitler, Adolf, 96
Hoffman, Professor Donald, 25
Holocaust, 96
Homer, The Iliad, 16
Hood, Professor Bruce, 33, 34, 35
identity: adolescent narrative-making process, 84, 157, 163, 174–6; beliefs forming, 89, 92, 98–9, 109, 148, 149, 152–8, 168–76, 191, 192; group’s collective status, 152–62; ‘identity claims’, 73; multiple in-groups, 156–7; ‘personal projects’, 183; sacred flaw as part of, 220; war state against other tribes, 159–62
the ignition point, 90–2, 124, 148, 179; in Citizen Kane, 99–100, 148, 171; and the dramatic question, 108; and goal-direction, 185; in King Lear, 148–9; in Lolita, 164; and sacred flaw approach, 213–15, 218, 220, 221, 224–5, 226–8; and two levels of consciousness, 122
individualism, culture of, 80–2, 83
information gaps, 18, 19–20, 56, 102, 171, 190
Ishiguro, Kazuo, The Remains of the Day, 65–8, 91–2, 98, 100–1, 171–3, 190–1, 195–6, 207, 216
James, E.L., Fifty Shades of Grey, 188–9
Jew Süss (antisemitic film, 1940), 161, 162
Jockers, Matthew, 188–9
Johnson, Professor Marcia, 180–1
Judaism, 152–4, 161
Kafka, Franz, ‘The Passenger’, 129
Kahneman, Professor Daniel, 51–2
Kesey, Ken, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 196–7
Kim, Professor Uichol, 82–3
Knausgaard, Karl Ove, A Death in the Family, 46
Ku Klux Klan, 161
Kuleshov, Lev, 52
Kureishi, Hanif, Intimacy, 15
La La Land (film, 2016), 195
language: evolution of, 2, 136–7; metaphor, 43–8; rules of grammar, 28–9
Lawrence of Arabia (film, 1962), 123–9, 208, 214–15
Lee, Harper, To Kill a Mockingbird, 201
Lewis, C.S., 29
literary fiction, 15, 53–4
Little, Professor Brian, 122, 183
Loewenstein, Professor George, 17–18; ‘The Psychology of Curiosity’, 19
Lost (TV series), 20
Lotto, Professor Beau, 191
Lynas, Mark, 98–9
Lynch, David, 54
Mackendrick, Alexander, 38
Madison, Austin, 187
Mamet, David, 53
Mankiewicz, Herman J., 56
Mao Zedong, 96
Marion and Geoff (TV series), 134–5
Marx, Karl, The Communist Manifesto, 16
Mazzoni, Professor Giuliana, 93
McAdams, Professor Dan, 84
McGlone, Professor Francis, 174
McKee, Robert, 131; Story, 228
McKenna, Aline Brosh, 53
McNab, Andy, Bravo Two Zero, 175–6
memory, 41, 48, 175, 198; as ‘episodic’ and ‘autobiographical’, 49; as major source of self-justification, 93–4, 97; as malleable and selective, 93–4
metaphorical thinking, 43–8
Miller, Arthur, Death of a Salesman, 135
mind, theory of, 35–7; errors about what others are thinking, 37–9, 40; and neocortex, 49
Mitchell, Margaret, Gone with the Wind, 45
Mlodinow, Professor Leonard, 111, 157
modernist stories, 129–30, 139–40, 231
Morales, Professor Helen, 184
Morrison, Toni, Song of Solomon, 200
Mr Nosey (children’s book), 222
mythology, 81–3, 152–3, 192; Campbell’s ‘Monomyth’, 5, 6, 63, 68, 139, 168, 186; ‘Cosmic Hunt’ myth, 50; sacred myth, 154–6; selfless–selfish axis, 139; stories as tribal propaganda, 152–3, 155–8, 159–61, 201; and story theorists, 5, 186, 192
Nabokov, Vladimir, Lolita, 163–6, 194
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, 199
nation states, 2–3, 155
Nebuchadnezzar II, King, 152
Nettle, Professor Daniel, 72–3, 182
Niccol, Andrew, 65
Oatley, Professor Keith, 71
Old Testament, 152–4
Orwell, George, Nineteen Eighty-Four, 47
Parker (author’s dog), 34
pathetic fallacy, 37
personality: active decisions we make, 206; ‘behavioural residue’, 73–5; beliefs as building blocks of neural realm, 63–8, 85–92; confabulation, 115–16, 130; consistent patterns of, 72–3; core, 69, 117; and culture, 78–9, 90–1; and environment, 75–6; five domains of, 69–72, 73–4, 170, 218; gender differences, 71–2; ‘naive realism’, 89; problem of self-control, 114–15; selective memories, 97; as significantly heritable, 72; tiny differences in brain structure, 71; see also flaws (distortions in cognition)
Peterson, Professor Jordan, 192
Pixar animation studio, 187
plot structures: analysis using ‘big data’, 187–9, 191–2; the argument, 213, 214–15; basic three acts of Western storytelling, 81–2, 182, 183, 188–90; Booker’s five structural movements, 186; Booker’s seven recurring plots, 186, 188, 228; the milieu, 210–12, 214; obstacles and breakthroughs, 89–90, 186; point just prior to resolution, 191–2; predefined, 5, 6–7, 186; preoccupation with, 5, 186, 228; ‘refuse the call’ of the story moment, 63; sacred flaw approach, 228–30; six ‘emotional arcs’, 188; as symphony of change, 190–1; as there to support character, 6, 101–3; tragic, 128, 148–51, 194, 208, 229; ‘two realms’ of, 120–30, 131–2, 134–5, 226; the what if?, 212–13, 214; Yorke’s essential ‘midpoint’, 187
poetry, 42–3, 45
Pol Pot, 96
police-procedural drama, 19, 102, 190
political ideology, 87, 155, 157–8
Prime Suspect (TV series), 19
Prinstein, Professor Mitch, 174
Project Gutenberg, 187–8
Proust, Marcel, Swann’s Way, 54
Puchner, Professor Martin, 154
Pudovkin, Vsevolod, 52
racism, 94, 161–2, 195
reading, 27–9, 54
religion, 2, 51; animistic, 36; imagined other minds, 36; and ready-made theories of control, 155, 194; visitations and visions, 24
reproduction, 12, 34
Robinson, Professor David, 191–2
Rowling, J.K.: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, 14–15; Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter character), 162
Roy, Arundhati, The God of Small Things, 46
Rushdie, S
alman, 68
sacred flaw approach, 205; and confirmation bias (model-defending behaviour), 85–92, 149–50, 218–19; the dramatic question, 210, 225, 230, 231; flawed belief becomes sacred, 219; and goal-direction, 226–8; and hero-maker brain, 219–20; and ignition point, 213–15, 218, 220, 221, 224–5, 226–8; mimicking of brain’s processes, 7; and multiple protagonists, 230; and origin damage, 215–17; plotting, 228–30; and point of view, 220–1; and ‘rampant irrationality’, 206–9; resistance to from writers, 209–13; sacred flaw takes over, 220; starting with absolute specificity, 210, 211–13, 214–17; and ‘the God moment’, 230–1; and theory of control, 221–5; tragic plots, 208, 229, 230, 231
Scent of a Woman (film, 1992), 128
Scott, Professor Sophie, 11
senses, 21–6, 27; evocation of in writing, 30–1; as specific to our needs, 33
Shakespeare, William: Julius Caesar, 151, 170; King Lear, 148–51, 187
Shanley, John Patrick, Doubt, 19–20
Shelley, Mary, Frankenstein, 29–30
slave narratives, 199
Smith, Zadie, White Teeth, 77
social genomics, 184
social instincts and traits: brain as hyper-social, 33–7, 56–7, 68, 188, 202–3; collective theory of control, 81, 82–3, 137–8; and control, 35–6, 56, 202; errors about what others are thinking, 37–9, 40; human domestication, 33–5, 56; and theory of mind, 35–9
Soloway, Jill, 120–2
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, 199
The Sopranos (TV series), 166–7
sound, 21, 23, 25
Sperry, Professor Roger, 110–11
Spielberg, Stephen, Jurassic Park, 40
Stalin, Joseph, 96
Star Wars: A New Hope (film, 1977), 5, 32
status play, 144–52, 153–4, 155–62
