Бесплатный фрагмент - Homo narrare

ARSEN AVETISOV
HOMO NARRARE

Narrative Intelligence 3.0:

Managing Reality and Influencing People

Acknowledgements

Life is an incredible journey, filled with loyal companions — family, friends, and like-minded souls. They are so original and uniquely predictable that I sometimes feel I have known them in another life. Each of them has contributed to this book, and I am deeply grateful to them all.

To my parents — for my uniqueness, the exceptional blend of their genetic material in a special ratio, and for everything they have done to shape my destiny.

To my wife — for her patience, love, and boundless, inspiring care.

To my children — for their high expectations and determination, which serve as the best example of unceasing growth.

To all my friends — those eternally rushing, bustling, and sensitive romantics who give me the strength to laugh at myself and help me smile in the most dramatic moments of life.

I am thankful to everyone who supports me in my puzzling attempts to make this world a better place. And to everyone else — for the wide spectrum of perspectives, each reminding us that nothing human is foreign to us.

Our challenges are simply proof of the Creator’s genuine interest in all of us. I am grateful to Him for continuing to teach His lessons and for still holding out hope for us. Life’s journey changes us. God rewards those who know how to wait but laughs at those who mistake laziness for patience. I thank Him for crafting my life’s story, for allowing me to walk the fine line separating the living from the eternal. I thank Him for not abandoning us in tough times and for helping us believe that tomorrow will be better than today. Because that is our greatest hope.

I am sincerely grateful to all my adversaries and those who envy me, and to all those who have been indifferent or impatient. It is thanks to them, too, that I’ve become who I am. Love your enemies… but never trust them.

Thanks to my teachers — they separated light from darkness. Some simply turned the light on.

Special thanks to my old friend, who happens to be the editor and translator of The Power of Narrative Intelligence into English, for his witty comments and valuable advice. Our collaboration continues.

I cherish what cannot be lost, what does not exist, and what cannot be destroyed because it was never built. We can only dispel the illusion of what seems real. And that is what this book is about.

This is a book about our world — a world where those who know remain silent, while those who speak do not know.

.

Preface

To throw a stone, one needs courage and determination. To make it hit the target, one needs wisdom and observation.

There is a time to gather stones and a time to throw them.

In my youth, despite all my courage and determination, I lacked wisdom and observation. Every age has its advantages. Now, after several decades, I have come to understand — it is pointless to feel impatience; everything has its time. The time has come to throw the stones. To throw a stone, you need courage and determination. To make it hit the target, you need wisdom and sharp observation.

I wrote this book with the goal of ensuring that everyone blessed with life does not miss its most important aspects — observing events from the back row and mistaking the play being performed for life itself. Even more tragically, mistaking someone else’s life for their own. This is especially true now that there is knowledge, methods, and an entire system for developing narrative intelligence. We can now explain why and how the system has evolved, the theories that have come together to support it, and showcase examples of its application around the world.

This book is not intended as a reference manual; rather, it is a journey into a parallel world that we often mistake for reality — a world through which we are subtly yet effectively governed.

With that in mind, you might ask, why read this book? Perhaps because you have a persistent feeling of being manipulated, influenced, and unable to do anything about it. Meanwhile, you may sense you are not fully realizing the potential and abilities you were born with.

Perhaps you have watched children and wondered how their genuine ability to influence their surroundings could be applied to the adult world. Or maybe you believe that creativity holds the power to transform processes within families, businesses, societies, and nations, and you want to discover how to harness that power. Perhaps you have marveled at how educated people repeatedly choose to be deceived, failing to learn from their mistakes. Or you might simply be curious about how the minds and lives of millions are controlled. Any of these reasons is a compelling one to read this book.

It is difficult to assert confidently what in life has been good or bad. The past serves as a textbook for understanding the present and envisioning the future. It helps us navigate the system of meanings and goals constructed by our minds and environment — or at least orient ourselves within the stories we are told.

We tend to overestimate the importance of our consciousness. We want to appear far more rational, spiritual, and elevated than we truly are. But the truth is, our behavior and thinking are fundamentally driven by the simple desire to live long and happily. Everything else — the narrative we tell ourselves to give our lives coherence — is built on top of this foundation.

Our continuous self-justifying stream of consciousness sweeps aside the logical structures of cause and effect that could explain our actions and mistakes, replacing them with its own constructs. Anything that remains unexplained or threatens our self-perception is attributed to the external world’s unfairness, spawning conjectures, theories, and other uncontrollable, ambiguous forces we label as destiny.

How and why do narratives influence our worldview, and how can they be used to modify or entirely change individual and collective behavior? Today, the battleground lies within our thinking, attention, perceptions, and intellect.

Humanity has traversed a complex path — one far more challenging than that of its neighbors in the evolutionary tree. Yet perhaps the greatest challenge has been, and remains, understanding what governs our behavior, thinking, and intelligence. Ultimately, this understanding has become so expansive and scientific that it allows us to systematically define narrative intelligence, comprehend its functions, and recognize its potential to shape our environment.

The system we know today is the result of a journey that began more than 15 years ago. This was not a deliberate, long-term strategy to expand a method’s reach into a new market segment. Nor was it the brainchild of a marketing department responding to demand or inventing a flashy new idea. What we now call the development of narrative intelligence began without even having a name — a concept for internal use, a desire for more creative ways to develop strategic directions, plans, and visions to unlock human potential within organizations and businesses.

The ideas presented in this book are not abstract concepts; they are the result of systematic scientific discoveries and explorations of meaning throughout human history. At this stage, the concept has reached a balance of methods within the system. The synergy of facilitation, combining cognitive skill development, coaching, storytelling, mentoring, and other approaches, has proven effective as the foundation for cultivating narrative intelligence. The system has demonstrated its efficacy, appeal, and ability to engage participants across various business domains.

Over the years, I have conducted workshops, seminars, and training programs for teams and organizations. Working as a consultant, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with professionals from diverse fields, constantly enriching the system with new methods. Reflecting on this journey, it is clear that there were moments when something special was needed — when the approach required practices, allies, messengers, and the persistence of dedicated individuals to sustain and expand the system’s potential.

Now, everyone can participate in this journey and master the system for managing their environment through the development of narrative intelligence. Simply put, the time has come to share this story with a broader audience.

People often tell me that I withhold something in each book. That is not entirely true. Dessert cannot be served before the main course, and I have often been tempted to publish all the materials I have accumulated in one book. But I convinced myself that the time was not yet ripe to reveal the full scope of how narratives influence our lives.

Those who have read my previous book, The Power of Narrative Intelligence, will find new supporting research here, as well as the principles, methods, and techniques for how narratives influence individuals and their environment.

The book comprises five parts. Part One, Neurophysiology, focuses on research and discoveries that have opened new perspectives on understanding behavior, providing fertile ground for improving methods of influence.

Part Two delves into Narratology, exploring the structure of narratives, their construction, and the critical elements of their impact.

Part Three, Modeling, outlines techniques for creating and transforming narratives to align with an author’s goals and intentions. It addresses how altering a narrative’s architecture can unlock unparalleled energy for influence.

Part Four, Monopolies, offers examples of how societal institutions historically monopolize narratives to shape the lives and destinies of individuals.

Finally, Part Five, Motivation, examines the energetic doctrine of narratives — what motivation truly is, how to create spaces for motivating narratives, and how to sustain them.

As optimists, we have endured two world wars and seven seasons of Game of Thrones, eagerly awaiting their sequels and prequels as if they were arrivals of the Messiah. Despite the uncertainty brought by pandemics, crises, and conflicts, we continue to envision a hopeful future.

The task of the artist, at times, is not to obstruct the viewer’s vision. The task of each individual is not to hinder their own life — or at the very least, to live a life that is authentically their own. In a space confined by desires, imagination, and fears, people often replicate the fading emptiness of others’ meanings. The shadows of our consciousness are darker than we realize. Let yourself invite light into that space.

I wish you delight and success on this journey. And may you be spared from the narratives of enemies and adversaries.

PART ONE. NEUROPHYSIOLOGY

Homo Narrare — The Creator of the Present, Past, and Future

People believe in what they believe, and see what they believe, but they do what they have been told.

A narrative is a coherent account with added meaning and purpose.

Over the last 3,000 years, and especially in light of recent scientific discoveries, human history has revealed a profound truth: our minds are fundamentally shaped by the narratives we create. It might be time to give ourselves a new name: Homo narrare, which could be liberally translated as «the storytelling human.» Instead of Descartes’ declaration, «I think, therefore I am,» perhaps we should consider a new motto for humanity: «I tell stories, therefore I am.» These narratives are not just entertaining tales or idle musings; they are the very programs by which we define who we are, find meaning, decide how to act, and engage with the world. But we do not merely tell stories to ourselves and others — we live within them. Our concepts of life, meaning, and reality itself are built from, or borrowed from, these intricate systems of narratives.

For centuries, we have been asking the same existential questions: «Why are we here? What are we looking for? What is the purpose of what we do?» And for centuries, we have been mistaken in our answers. This is because we fail to recognize how much of what we are and how we see the world is shaped by elaborate constructs made up of words, images, emotions, and ideas. These narratives often contain fragments of truth and pieces of personal meaning, but they are just as often imbued with the goals, values, and interests of others.

We still do not fully understand the workings of our own consciousness. We do not know how our behaviors are formed, how we learn, or why we can be so easily convinced of nearly anything. Most critically, we do not yet know how to improve these processes. How can we make our minds clearer, more controllable, and more effective — like a finely tuned instrument for navigating life? This question is urgent because life is a treasure worth perfecting. By understanding and mastering our minds, we could fill our existence with more happiness, prosperity, and freedom — the outcomes we deserve. The brain of Homo narrare is a marvelously powerful machine, capable of modeling and reshaping both the present and the future. Yet something holds us back from fully unlocking its potential.

Human history shows a repeated cycle of moving from one form of slavery to another. Today, slavery has taken on its most insidious form: mental, invisible, and intangible. This new form of slavery is built on the very narrative systems we have created and the technologies that spread them. Conquering people or nations physically is no longer necessary. All it takes is captivating their minds, attracting their attention, and steering their thoughts in a desired direction.

The dominant narratives that shape society often do not come from the people themselves, though they are made to seem as if they do. Instead, these stories reflect the views and interests of those in power — political parties, banks, corporations, elites, and militaries. Many theories have been constructed to justify why billions of people must follow the goals and values of a small few. Yet the notion that we live in an age ruled by reason is largely a myth. Evidence to the contrary surrounds us in the form of crises, wars, and disasters.

This situation is made possible by a societal structure that limits our time for reflection. The system overwhelms us with narratives that demand our attention, constantly pulling us in with fear, seduction, advice, or promises of salvation. Yet these narratives rarely address genuine threats or lead us toward authentic goals. More often, they are designed for profit — just business, and nothing more.

People today live in a constant state of false urgency. Thinking becomes shallow, and choices are reduced to superficial options. Although we appear to be free, we are held captive by the intangible chains of dominant narratives. The current system of control functions to ensure a fragile agreement between the people and the institutions that govern them. This agreement supports an economic order where a few grow wealthier, the majority grow poorer, and no one grows rebellious — or even bored.

Through mass media and communication platforms, the system relentlessly works to claim our attention, dominate our time, and control our lives. The tragedy is that much of the information we consume and the narratives we adopt about the world — and about ourselves — are implanted to serve purposes that are rarely aligned with our own. The trick lies in how seamlessly this happens. Most of the time, we do not even notice. And when we do catch a glimpse — when we see the «rabbit ears» sticking out of the magician’s hat — it only means the magician has slipped up. The real masters of this grand illusion are so skilled that we will never see the «ears.» Even if we do, we are quick to convince ourselves they were never there in the first place.

The first step toward breaking free is to begin looking behind the curtain of this elaborate spectacle. It is a journey that promises to transform your understanding of the world, yourself, and your life. Only you have the power — and the right — to unlock the immense potential of your mind and use it to create a life that is full, meaningful, and truly your own.

Neurophysiology of Worldview

How We Perceive Information, How We Represent the World, and How We Reproduce It in Our Consciousness.

It is easier to seduce than to conquer.

Over the last half-century, numerous studies and discoveries have reshaped our understanding of how narratives influence worldviews and behavior. A Canadian psychologist, Allan Paivio, proposed the concept of a «dual coding system» while studying memory psychology. According to this idea, humans process information through two main systems: visual and verbal. These systems work in parallel, creating independent representations of what is seen and heard. As the information passes through several processing stages, it is eventually stored in long-term memory. At this stage, an image can be given a name, or a name retrieved from memory can be paired with an image.

There is, however, a unique feature: the reality created and remembered in this way can belong equally to the real world or an imagined one. The primary purpose and significance of this system is to enable people to conceptualize and label the information received through their sensory channels.

This perception and representation system relies on subjective evaluations and pre-existing images and judgments stored in memory. Together, these elements form what is commonly called a worldview. A worldview influences an individual’s core life positions, beliefs, ideals, and behaviors. It gives human activity a sense of purpose and meaning, helping individuals understand their place within the conceptualized system.

However, over time, the information stored in memory undergoes various changes. It can become distorted, interpreted differently, or ultimately transformed into something new. At first glance, this seems intuitively familiar. Yet, there is a subtle but crucial aspect that becomes evident when the concepts and processes involved are clearly defined.

The first concept is «a person’s attitude to the surrounding reality.» This is expressed in moods, feelings, and actions, forming an emotional and psychological foundation. The second concept is «a set of views on the world,» a cognitive and intellectual framework that reflects an understanding of the surrounding world. When we visualize our understanding of the world, our emotional and psychological attitude to the surrounding reality transitions to the intellectual and cognitive level of a set of views on the world. This means that by influencing how we perceive the world — particularly through the primary channels of sight and hearing — we can alter someone’s views of it.

Information is always essential because it helps build a more complete picture of the world and provides a sense of security. Not long ago, all the senses contributed relatively equally to shaping this picture. The world was more tangible, closely tied to the present moment. People could see, hear, touch, smell, and taste their surroundings. For instance, gold coins were tested by biting them. Items were touched, tried on, or even sniffed before being accepted or bought.

But the world has changed. Today, the primary channels of information are vision and hearing — sometimes only one or the other. The information received through these channels is no longer tied directly to the current moment. It can refer to the past or the future, creating a gap between the information and the immediacy of the events it describes. Watching screens or listening to news reports cannot convey the depth of a landscape, the richness of sounds, the subtleties of taste, the warmth of touch, or the variety of smells. Even with cutting-edge pixel densities and audio clarity, the real sensory dynamics of the world cannot be fully experienced, leaving us with artificially created representations. People now perceive a world based on information provided by others. This is a defining characteristic of today’s process of shaping a person’s attitude to the surrounding reality, which in turn forms the set of views on the world for millions.

Abstract representations created by modern information systems are built on a directive model. There is no live feedback, no chance to touch, smell, or feel, no opportunity to ask questions, gauge reactions, and get immediate answers. Instead, the brain receives digitized and polished images edited by information channels.

The overwhelming flow of information projected onto people creates fragmented attention spans. The speed of switching focus and the fragmented nature of perception depend entirely on the significance of the agenda set by the media. The blending of imaginary and real threats, combined with the lack of adequate feedback, leads to mental disorientation and a constant sense of uncertainty about the world. Without a full sensory picture where one channel complements or confirms another — where beauty aligns with taste — the perception of the world becomes even more fragmented and illusory. The decrease in real-world interaction and changes in lifestyles further intensify this illusion and uncertainty.

The danger of today’s accessible information sources lies in the inability to verify their accuracy in real time. When doubts arise about the reliability of one source, people seek confirmation from another. For example, understanding a speaker’s true meaning based only on their words and tone can be difficult. In such cases, people try to gather additional visual information. If confusion or misunderstanding persists, they might attempt to ask questions. But try asking questions to a television!

In essence, the brain pays little attention to the limitations imposed by civilization and technological progress. To maintain relevance, it focuses on what is immediately available — what can be seen and heard — without the ability to instantly verify the truth of this information. For thousands of years, evolution required humans to rely on all their senses in real time. But as screens became prevalent, life shifted into a realm of images and captions. This shift opens limitless opportunities for persuasion, directing thoughts, and manipulating worldviews.

Mirror Areas and the Trust Hormone

How We Can Be Taught Anything and Convinced of Anything

What got you here, won’t get you there.

Marshall Goldsmith

The research of Italian neuroscientist Giacomo Rizzolatti sheds light on how people learn, develop skills, and understand the emotions and feelings of others. His discoveries revealed that certain areas in the brain, called mirror neuron areas, are activated not only when we perform specific actions but also when we watch others doing the same actions. Surprisingly, these areas are even activated when actions are only described. Scientists believe this mechanism evolved to help living beings adapt quickly to their environment and changes within it. These mirror neuron areas also play a role in empathy — the ability to emotionally connect with others — which is important for understanding other people’s moods and predicting their intentions.

Emotions play an important role in attracting and holding attention. Stories told with emotion captivate1 listeners, shape their views about events, and can convince them to accept the storyteller’s perspective. Emotional responses also release cortisol, a hormone that improves focus and enhances mental activity.

For a long time, scientists have trusted the power of numbers, logic, and clear cause-and-effect explanations to persuade others. Statistics, often viewed as undeniable, activate analytical thinking, which tends to create doubt rather than excitement. Stories, on the other hand, rely on emotion — a force that is hard to measure and not always logical — to build trust and persuade. Why does this happen?

Among the many hormones that influence human behavior, oxytocin stands out. Known as the «motherhood hormone,» oxytocin plays an important role in social connections. It increases trust, loyalty, and the ability to recognize familiar faces, which helps build stronger relationships. Oxytocin also calms people, reducing anxiety by signaling to the brain that the person is safe. In animals, oxytocin encourages friendly behavior that strengthens social bonds, and in humans, it works in much the same way.

The traditional roles of men and women in society lasted for thousands of years partly because they were linked to physical differences and hormonal systems. Women’s higher levels of oxytocin make them more social, while men’s lower levels make them more aggressive and cautious. These traits likely helped early humans survive, with women maintaining harmony in the home and men protecting their families. This distinction supported survival: women acted as the keepers of the hearth, filling homes with warmth and calm, while men took on the role of a brutish and wary security service guarding the cave paradise.

Oxytocin also helps people sense the emotions of others. Even a small dose of oxytocin can improve how well someone understands others, leading to better relationships both at home and at work. For example, when men are given oxytocin through a nasal spray, they become better at noticing other people’s feelings, make more eye contact, and show more trust — sometimes even becoming overly trusting. This hormone reduces selfishness and strengthens trust within groups, though it does not necessarily increase distrust of outsiders.

Experiments have shown how powerful oxytocin can be. In one study, men were exposed to oxytocin and then shown images of people while hearing unpleasant news. Despite the negative information, their perception of the people’s attractiveness did not change, and they were more likely to trust the individuals in the images, even sharing personal information with them.

Oxytocin is produced when people feel cared for and trusted. This encourages social interaction and boosts empathy. In fact, to persuade someone, it may be enough to simply inspire their empathy. By modeling emotions effectively, it is possible to motivate others to take specific actions.

Paul Zak, a scientist, explored ways to naturally stimulate the production of oxytocin to encourage cooperative behavior. In one experiment, participants at a charity event watched two videos. One presented facts in a formal and emotionless way, while the other delivered the same information through a dramatic and emotionally engaging story. The viewers of the second video donated significantly more money, proving that emotional storytelling is far more effective in driving action. This ability to evoke empathy and trust often determines whether a panhandler receives money or is ignored. Why do people give money to some beggars and not to others? Because some succeed in evoking sympathy and, as a result, trust in their plight, while others fail to convince. To capture attention, emotion is needed; to inspire belief, empathy is essential. Thus, if you need to persuade someone to do anything — donate money, choose a brand, believe a story, and more — you must evoke sympathy and empathy. To the popular aphorism «No one can be trusted,» one might add, «Not even yourself.»

In 1976, Francis Veber’s film The Toy, starring Pierre Richard, tells the story of a journalist who temporarily becomes the plaything of a media tycoon’s son. In one scene, Pierre Richard’s character invites the spoiled boy to play a game of running a newspaper. The child gets absorbed in the activity, but the journalist is taken aback when young Éric Rambal-Cochet confidently offers advice on headlines: «Instead of stating, „100 died in a US train crash,“ it should read, „100 French people killed in a horrific disaster.“ Dad says the French only care about French corpses.»

In today’s interpretation, it can be said that the boy implied that changing the emotional texture of the phrase can attract attention and elevate cortisol and oxytocin levels in readers.

The more often certain emotions are associated with certain images and phrases, the more stable this connection becomes.

The introduction of functional MRI (fMRI) technology revolutionized the study of brain activity. At Princeton University, neuroscientist Uri Hasson measured the brain activity of a woman as she told a deeply personal story. Her auditory cortex responded to her own voice, and her frontal and parietal lobes — the areas of the brain linked to emotions — were active as she processed her narrative. When others listened to her story, their brains showed similar activity, activating the same emotional areas at the same moments. Hasson concluded that the brain’s patterns, whether triggered by personal experiences, reading, or storytelling, blur the lines between experiencing events firsthand and hearing about them.

The concept of «limbic resonance» helps explain how mothers instinctively «sense» their children. This synchronization of the limbic systems — the brain’s emotional center — of a parent and child relies on nonverbal signals. These same signals are crucial in broader human interactions. The more people share stories, the more likely they are to experience this neural synchronization and emotional connection.

Humans often act based on stories, adopting the experiences of storytellers as if they were their own. For example, someone trying to defuse a fake bomb instinctively looks for red and blue wires, influenced by countless movie scenes. Similarly, when people see a moving light in the night sky, they may think of aliens, as this is the most common narrative about such events.

Raymond Mar studied brain activity during fiction reading and found that sensory and motor regions of the brain activated as if readers were living the events themselves. He concluded that the ability to immerse oneself in a story improves empathy and social understanding. Interestingly, people who read fiction regularly tend to have better social skills and stronger support networks than those who read nonfiction, who report higher stress levels. Mar suggested that the key difference lies in how stories are structured: narratives create stronger engagement than factual explanations.

In the end, presenting information as a story, drama, or another form of narrative becomes much more convincing when it deeply involves the audience. The more engaged people feel, the greater the effect on their understanding and beliefs. This process allows people to identify with the characters in a story, making fictional figures feel as real as close family members. The blurred line between fiction and reality takes on new meaning as scientists study how stories shape people’s views of the world.

Melanie Green and Timothy Brock found that stories can change beliefs by reducing awareness of real-world facts that contradict the story. Emotional narratives encourage people to identify with characters, making the story’s message more persuasive. Anneke de Graaf and Letty Hustinx showed that narratives with emotional tension and logical flow are more effective at aligning beliefs with the storyteller’s message. This highlights the importance of well-constructed storytelling.

Beyond the physiological and logical aspects of how people perceive information, stories also serve as powerful learning tools. Studies show that learning reshapes the brain’s structure, forming new connections through everyday experiences, education, and emotional stories. These changes emphasize how deeply storytelling influences the brain’s development.

Although there is still much to learn about the brain, what we do know shows how stories affect emotions, trust, beliefs, and actions. Just as food nourishes the body, well-structured and meaningful stories nourish the mind. If good food gives energy, helps growth, and brings satisfaction, what might we gain from compelling stories and thoughtful narratives?

Thinking, or the Narrative Fair

Do we think, or do we merely justify ourselves? Why is humanity always enslaved by the story it is told?

My son will be a lawyer like me, and I’m counting on his domain being a prosperous practice.

Pierre Verne, father of Jules Verne. His son became a great writer.

Modern knowledge already enables us to deliberately shape worldviews according to externally imposed meanings and externally pursued goals. We are both perfect and imperfect at the same time. The prevailing imperative of consuming in the here and now, characteristic of us all, already casts doubt on the existence of future generations. One thing can be stated with confidence: the majority of humanity, having managed to survive under dubious regimes and in a toxic environment, will inevitably be enslaved by the stories told to them, no matter the circumstances. And enslaved, dependent people always underestimate their own abilities and potential.

We do not notice changes because we live in a world of stereotypes — stereotypes of perceiving meaning. Our brain and body seize every opportunity to avoid activating consciousness because they do not intend to rely on it. All our lives, we try to train the mammal that we are — or at least explain and justify its behavior to ourselves. A person cannot be understood merely as what they do, say, or think. Behavior can be shaped by entirely different and hidden causes: actions by the instinct to impress or escape, words by the desire to dominate or defend, and thoughts by fear or love — or both at once. But a person is all these things together; they are all these narratives about admiration, submission, fear, and love. Or at least they seem so to us…

The expression «to be, not to seem» carries a paradoxical meaning. We are as we are, and our environment sees us as we are. At the same time, we seem to ourselves as we are, and then we become what we seemed to ourselves. What is fulfilled is what you strive for, not what you avoid. Movement «toward something» differs from movement «away from something.» It is like replacing forecasting with planning. We persistently follow the scripts of our meanings because meanings are what our brain creates to confirm the coherence and identity of our personality, as well as the consistency and causality of our actions. The brain is constantly focused on justifying our existence and deeds. Deep down, we always forgive ourselves our mistakes, viewing them as well-thought-out and wise schemes that simply did not work for various reasons.

But do we truly think? What do we mean by «thinking»? The term «thinking» emerged from an unsuccessful attempt to describe our mental activity. Even today, when we know incomparably more about the source and location of «thinking» than in past millennia, there is still no reliable picture of how we actually think.

There are some facts and assertions. For instance, thinking is influenced by associative memory and prevailing narratives. All our judgments, preferences, tastes, and decision-making systems are based on this memory. Even when we decide what is good or bad, right or wrong, beautiful or not, it is all determined not by our sight, smell, or hearing but by memory and the stories tied to these evaluations that we tell ourselves.

According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, language determines our thinking. The work of artificial intelligence operates similarly — a system of words, corresponding images, speech constructs, and associated concepts. It is an imitation of mental activity, a game with connections to the real world.

Most children raised in contemporary culture cannot adequately describe the processes happening around them because their vocabulary no longer matches their growing, diversifying experience. To some extent, both language and its established codifications are to blame for our simplified perception of the environment and superficial thinking. With the current pace of development, we need more words to formulate problems. However, the vocabulary used to describe them is catastrophically shrinking, even as new terms accompanying progress emerge.

Every day, we make hundreds of choices and provide hundreds of answers to questions humanity faces. Yet we lack both the time and understanding of the essence of these problems. People involve artificial intelligence, transferring responsibility to machine code. But they forget that in any case, the conclusion to their decisions, choices, answers, and intricate life narratives will ultimately be a stone bearing two dates: the date of entry and the date of exit from the tiresome necessity of choosing. It is worth remembering that after the exit date, there is not only no choice but, strictly speaking, nothing at all. However, there is nothing only for the individual, not for the artificial systems they created to simulate thinking. Where and how does the boundary of trust in such decision-making programs lie — programs indifferent to the lives of specific men and women and bearing no responsibility for them?

The very first question God asked Adam, «Where are you?» has echoed through the air of human civilization for thousands of years. Where are we in relation to God’s plan? Where do we walk, and why? What do we seek, and is it what we find? And while people strive to answer these profound questions, stories with ready-made answers, narratives with meanings and goals, artificial intelligence, and other distractions have already been prepared for them to bypass the tedious moment of philosophical reflection and start entertaining themselves and spending money. Money they will again have to earn «by the sweat of their brow,» as God promised in response to Adam’s timid justification for his transgression.

But not because all these enticing stories about success, struggle, consumption, and power were invented by some greedy members of a secret club of hidden knowledge, worshippers of the cult of capital, and global domination. Of course not. Simply because these club members are also compelled to spend money by other narratives and other secret clubs. Such is the endless carousel of life, commonly referred to as the spiral of development.

How We Decide and Do We Really Decide?

We don’t choose; we just tell ourselves about our choices.

Be careful of your thoughts — they are the beginning of acts.

Lao Tzu

We do not know how we make decisions; we only know what we intend to do. Several decades ago, Daniel Goleman introduced an important thesis: humans actually make decisions emotionally, then use their consciousness to justify and rationalize those decisions. This process unfolds so seamlessly and skillfully that we rarely question the order in which decisions are made.

Living under the illusion of «conscious choice,» people seek to confirm their worldview and maintain the integrity of their personality — or what they perceive as their personality. The process of «self-acknowledgment» involves numerous factors influencing their thinking, actions, and outcomes. Given the multitude of these factors, their combination sometimes results in paradoxical, absurd, or meaningless decisions.

For example, one influencing factor is social desirability — the need to be accepted by one’s peers. Another is the tendency to embrace pleasant information more readily than unpleasant information. By assembling these factors like Lego blocks, people can be subtly and painlessly coerced into doing one thing over another. They may be led to act modestly or submissively, aggressively or in strict adherence to pre-established rituals.

There is much we cannot yet explain but perceive as ordinary, recurring coincidences or random events. For instance, how someone occasionally guesses another’s thoughts, even though no material explanation exists for this phenomenon. Or how the brain constantly seeks reassurance in the possibility of choice, comforting itself with the notion that change or influence is still attainable. The essence of this illusion lies in the brain’s «unconscious» selection of decisions, later framed and explained as conscious choices. It selects from what it already knows, associates with such choices, and can rationalize.

These explanations serve as confirmations of one’s conceptuality, strategy, and behavioral control — but not the behavior itself. This is evident in cases of inexplicable, superstitious, or ritualistic behavior. Consider soccer players kissing the field as they enter, top executives wearing a special tie for important presentations, or mafiosi meeting their end despite their «lucky» coats. These rituals and superstitions effectively signify people enlisting their subconscious in the service of their success.

The recurring narratives of lucky ties and coats increasingly influence individuals and entire generations. Immersion in such narratives leads to overlooking the most important thing — life itself. One might live someone else’s life, pursuing goals that are not their own. At the very least, one should have a general guide — a quick start manual — on how this all works: what captures attention, how memory functions, how decisions are made and based on what, how judgments are formed, and how perceptions of the world are constructed.

Many play video games and expect each subsequent level to be harder than the last. Players are prepared for this. But who said that each subsequent stage of life or history should be easier than the one before? Essentially, this is merely an expectation — a desired picture we have created in our minds. Who promised us such a picture besides ourselves? No one. We told it to ourselves.

The readiness for increasing difficulty in video games stems from the fact that the game and its rules were invented by players. It is merely a model with a predefined scenario and anticipated conclusion. But in real life, the concept of a «game» is different. We create narratives but do not always adhere to the rules of the environment in which they unfold. We demand and expect rewards for each stage of life but fail to do what is necessary to achieve them. We crave peace, stability, prosperity, and well-being simply because it is written into our narrative. But such things are not part of the environment’s rules. Perhaps the chosen narrative does not align with our aspirations and capabilities.

When expectations clash with the emerging reality, a conflict — a drama — arises. What is the purpose of such narratives if we should have better understood the language in which they are written in the first place? We should create a higher-quality game code so we do not have to search for errors and rewrite entire blocks of our lives later.

«Effective» experience is the repeated practice of illusions. The experience of quick results from actions, from pressing buttons and clicking a mouse, lacks meaningful content, leading to the reinforcement of superficial attitudes toward reality. As a result, people today readily accept both scientific and conspiratorial theories of events, backing them up with randomly created but conveniently fitting facts. This is done as quickly as the subsequent disappointment in such constructs sets in. The nature of the processes that create and destroy these assumptions and narratives remains unexamined. The world lives in a constant state of impatience and expectation.

Understanding the driving narratives provides an advantage in controlling and directing events. The paradox is that even when studying their narratives, people rarely attempt to build a system. It all boils down to telling themselves yet another story about the system. Facts mean little to people unless they are arranged into a story. It is not facts but stories that help us plan, predict changes, and survive.

Everything in the world evolves according to its own scale of unpredictability and levels of expectation. It is easy to believe that our expectations are also secretly controlled and, depending on the political situation, steered in a particular direction. The key is that there is some truth to this.

Whoever Controls Attention Controls the World

If the eyes are the organ of vision, then the brain, particularly its cortex, is the organ of insight.

Just as the mode of the rational mind is words, the mode of the emotions is nonverbal.

Daniel Goleman

It has been wittily noted that emotional intelligence comes into play when, unable to sell something, there is at least the possibility of enticing. More seriously, the essence and understanding of emotional intelligence lie within the very definition of emotion. Emotion is a psychological process that reflects our subjective evaluative attitude toward a current or potential situation. The key word in this definition is «subjective.»

The concepts of «feelings» and «emotions» are often conflated. Feeling is the fusion of thought and emotion and even something more profound than their wordless reunion. Emotions, on the other hand, are simpler and quite manageable.

By nature, the use of emotions in active interaction with the environment constitutes an irrational form of influence. However, it is effective and easily understood, as it does not require deep analysis, calculations, or planning. Often, a single glance conveys more information than hundreds of words or thousands of figures.

The work with rationality — reasoning, ideas, and assumptions, accompanied by clarity and logic — has its downsides. These processes, due to their linearity and sequential nature, proceed slowly and are extremely energy-intensive. The quality of results and the level of intelligence depend on many factors, not only innate but also acquired, such as vocabulary, education, and upbringing. Therefore, mental processes and the constructs they create can be compared to the strategy of a general staff, whereas the work of emotional intelligence resembles tactical operations directly on the front line.

There is a belief that to manage something, one must control it. Control implies understanding what is happening and what needs to be done to bring about something different. Humans strive to control everything they can imagine and measure. However, this rational approach to controlling the irrational — in this case, emotions — has its peculiarities.

Igor Grossmann and Ethan Kross observed that people can usually distance themselves from others’ stories. Nevertheless, they struggle to maintain such detachment when dealing with emotionally significant problems in their own lives. Researchers call this the Solomon Paradox.

The task of emotional intelligence is not to engage in control in the conventional sense of the word but to focus on understanding experiences. To comprehend emotions, they must be felt, experienced, and identified — given a name. However, this does not mean blindly following them. One should follow goals and what is necessary, which often diverges from the direction emotions indicate. Either you manage your emotions, or they manage you.

Using emotional intelligence allows for deliberate influence and drawing attention to what is essential. The volume of information entering the brain through all channels in one second amounts to approximately 400 billion bits. Consciousness processes only about 2,000 bits. Given the overwhelming influx of information, people focus on what they perceive as the most important. Simultaneously, many reactions or decisions shift into the brain’s background mode. To create a mental image, the brain filters out most incoming data and uses pre-existing information stored in memory. In this competition of priorities, emotions uniquely highlight what truly deserves attention, aiding in consolidating this «important» information in memory.

Despite this process, honed over hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, challenges persist today. Recent studies have shown that the average attention span of people using multiple electronic devices has dropped from twelve seconds to eight seconds — one second less than that of a goldfish.

We are accustomed to thinking that emotions focus attention on events or phenomena prioritized by the individual. Yet, with equal likelihood, emotions can focus attention on priorities presented by the surrounding environment. Through emotions, bypassing the rational filter of consciousness, the environment gains access to older brain structures than the cortex. This enables the management of attention and the emergence of desires. Whoever controls attention controls the world. Emotional influence in economics and business aligns with the well-known mantra: «If you take enough of nothing, you will get something.» Emotions are that intangible «nothing» that can be transformed into tangible «something.»

Why has cinema captivated the world? Spending two hours escaping into a world of «once upon a time» offers a much-needed distraction from a life filled with tiresome, mundane, and endless responsibilities. For most people, daily routines are relatively predictable and banal. But spending two hours in a world of «sometime, somewhere,» where anything is possible, feels magical. Once a story turns on this internal «television,» it becomes impossible to look away. Capturing attention comes at a price, and what is demanded in return is substantial.

Unlike the stream of weekdays filled with trivial details, a story told in a film can become a form of vivid and extraordinary life experience. Cinema compresses time, eliminates daily clutter, and polishes the rough edges of reality. Stories have the power to romanticize existence, elevate the significance of events, and emphasize the good and bad qualities of people. On one hand, stories resemble our world; on the other, they possess a supernatural quality. The diverse sensual pleasures of stories not only nourish us physically, emotionally, and spiritually but have become as vital as real food. Such feasts often lead to a lasting craving.

Gregory Berns, using fMRI to study the left temporal cortex, sought to clarify whether neural connectivity related to a text would persist while reading a novel in the evening, the following morning, or even for several days. The temporal part of the brain is linked to linguistic perception. Anyone who has ever picked up a book and could not put it down or binge-watched seven seasons of a favorite series knows what it means for a story’s mood to color everything they do. It is as if one starts living in Middle-earth or thinking in the terms of the Seven Kingdoms.

It turns out this is indeed the case — heightened neural activity persists. Berns called this «shadow activity,» comparing it to muscle memory developed through physical tasks, such as a tennis serve or a golf swing. This heightened activity also appeared in the brain’s sensorimotor region, whose neurons are tied to creating sensory representations for the body. This phenomenon, known as «grounded cognition,» occurs, for example, when the thought of running activates neurons associated with the physical act of running.

Reading about running truly has a comparable effect. «Neural changes linked to physical sensations and motor systems suggest that reading a novel can place you in the protagonist’s body,» says Berns. «We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else’s shoes metaphorically. Now we see that something biological may also occur.» This important conclusion prompts us to critically reconsider our relationship with attention-grabbing stories, books, and films — and the time we devote to them, every minute of our lives.

How and why does this happen? How does the process evolve from attention to biological change? It all lies in the structure of the human brain and the ways it functions.

The Human Brain — An Eclectic Design

How the Triune Brain Emerged and What’s Really Going on Inside It.

For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.

Matthew 25:29

Our brain is a complex system of interconnected structures. Its architecture reflects the entire evolution of life, comprising functional modules responsible for sustaining life. These modules, while conditionally distinct, are deeply interconnected. The average reaction time for a human — measured as the interval between seeing a flash of light and pressing a button in response — is approximately 250 milliseconds. By comparison, an average computer processes information 750 million times faster. However, this fact pales in significance when we consider the vast capabilities of the brain and the extraordinary talent of nature, an unmatched yet remarkably resourceful designer.

The «Reptilian Brain» — The Oldest Layer. The first and most ancient layer of the brain is the «reptilian brain,» which emerged about 150 million years ago. This structure governs three fundamental functions crucial for individual survival:

— Safety: It enables instantaneous decisions based on the «fight-or-flight» algorithm. Interestingly, this well-known reaction omits a third possible response: freezing.

— Foraging: Actions related to finding and securing food.

— Reproduction: Identifying and seeking suitable mates to ensure the continuation of the species.

The «reptilian brain» works ceaselessly, yet we remain unaware of its operations. Its key performance indicator (KPI) is not awareness but rapid and reliable responsiveness. Awareness is an energy-intensive, slow, and ambiguous process. While advice often emphasizes the importance of thinking before reacting, doing so could result in being «eaten» before any thought is completed.

The «Mammalian Brain» — The Emotional Layer. Above the reptilian brain lies the «mammalian brain,» also known as the emotional brain. This layer, which developed around 50 million years ago, facilitates survival and interaction within social groups. It governs social relationships, structuring communities such as herds, tribes, prides, families, and societies.

The emotional brain shapes behaviors of dominance and submission, fundamental to hierarchical structures. It also contributes to reproductive behavior, though in a distinct manner: impress and be impressed. This brain layer is the seat of the drive for superiority, aimed at showcasing the exclusivity of one’s genetic material. It enables humans to «understand» pets and find joy in interacting with them. Emotions, experiences, and attention are all rooted in this level.

The «Human Brain» — The Cortex and Consciousness. Finally, about two million years ago, the most advanced layer of the brain emerged: the structures responsible for consciousness. While the functions of the earlier layers are relatively well understood, the purpose and workings of the conscious brain remain the subject of much speculation and misunderstanding.

Imagine a thin sheet of material, 2–3 millimeters thick, with sides slightly over 40 centimeters. This «sheet» houses approximately 18 billion neurons, forming the cerebral cortex. Is that a lot? For comparison, the entire brain contains about 87 billion cells. While 18 billion may sound impressive, the cerebellum, the brain’s coordination center, contains twice as many neurons. This suggests that nature prioritized steady movement and balance over composing poetry or formulating scientific theories.

To this day, many people associate consciousness with advanced abilities such as planning, developing military doctrines, crafting scientific theories, composing novels and poetry, creating art, and producing films. However, all these activities are merely byproducts — unintentional parallel outputs of the cerebral cortex’s primary purpose: adaptive responses to environmental changes with minimal energy expenditure.

The cortex achieves this adaptation by accumulating proven interaction strategies and transitioning them into unconscious, energy-efficient processes. Most importantly, the brain strives to avoid creating new processes whenever possible, as they demand exorbitant additional energy. But how and why did this principle of brain function come into existence?

The Brain’s Energy Concept

What truly matters is what happens within us, not to us.

Misunderstandings and lethargy produce more wrong in the world than deceit and malice do.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The issue of conserving energy and using it wisely boils down to the strategy for managing it. The brain is constantly involved in optimizing processes that require energy: thinking, physical activities, reactions, actions, and the functioning of internal organs. Even digesting food requires energy.

Canadian neuropsychologist Donald Hebb demonstrated that when brain neurons activate, they release neurotransmitters. These are absorbed by neighboring cells, transmitting important information. Over time, this synaptic transmission can strengthen, as similar messages travel along the same neural pathways, eventually becoming automatic. Essentially, every experience activates thousands, possibly millions, of neurons. If a task is repeated enough, the brain quickly learns the pattern, automatically activating the same neurons. This is how the brain develops efficiency strategies — relying on pre-formed templates rather than «reinventing the wheel» each time, triggering a conveyor belt of unconscious processes.

People rarely think about the many actions they perform daily, even the simplest ones. Brushing their teeth, brewing coffee, driving a car — these are just a few examples. Over time, the brain builds a massive «library» of such behavioral templates. It’s hard to quantify how much energy was spent optimizing and organizing these seemingly simple yet essential tasks.

Most of these processes are unconscious. Markus Raichle, the pioneer of the brain’s default mode network, explains that the brain is constantly constructing an internal model of the surrounding world. This model works as a forecast, helping the brain predict and prepare for events. As long as predictions hold true, the brain doesn’t engage attention, which is always costly and energy-intensive. However, when something contradicts the prediction, it immediately captures attention. For instance, stepping onto a stopped escalator can cause a sudden jolt. Why? Your brain’s forecast, repeatedly confirmed, assumes the escalator will move, so it compensates for the expected acceleration.

This principle applies universally. In daily life, people rely on existing behavioral programs and are more inclined to adjust them or adopt ready-made templates than to create entirely new ones. The brain follows this energy-saving logic persistently and subtly.

For the brain, its operation resembles a business — a craft of managing limited resources. In its case, the limited resource is energy, which is constantly in demand. While the brain accounts for about 2% of body weight, it consumes a disproportionate amount of energy — approximately 20% of the body’s total. In practical terms, this translates to a power consumption of about 12 watts. Imagine how much power a computer would require if it had the same capabilities as the human brain.

The brain never truly rests, not even during sleep. It uses about 350–400 calories daily, primarily in the form of glucose. Energy consumption peaks around ages 5–6 when the brain can utilize up to 60% of the body’s energy. In adults, the brain’s energy consumption is notably higher in the evening than in the morning. This is because, throughout the day, cells — especially their connections — work harder to transmit signals and consume more energy. Daily impressions are remembered, classified, and cataloged in memory. Events are transformed into experiences, integrated into narrative programs, refined, and used to enhance the worldview. Ultimately, this process reshapes the architecture of neural connections.

While working, the brain can direct blood flow to specific areas where energy demand spikes. This happens when those areas are engaged in solving complex cognitive tasks — problems for which no pre-existing narratives exist in the brain. Examples include learning a new skill, mastering a musical instrument, or studying a language from a completely different linguistic group. Such energy surges also occur when circumstances are constantly changing, such as planning a chess strategy.

Once a skill is developed and practiced, it no longer requires intense effort or concentration, resulting in significantly lower energy consumption. But just how substantial are these energy surges for the brain? And why is the body willing to pay such a high price for the brain’s operation?

This story began long ago. Today, we’ve mostly solved the problem of hunger. But for millions of years, our ancestors faced the constant threat of starvation. Yet, even under these conditions, one-fifth of all consumed energy went to support the brain. Every change requires tremendous energy expenditure. The seemingly simple transformations people dream about as children, imagine as teenagers, and encounter as adults often prove overwhelming. To truly change, one must let go of something, sacrifice something, and rebuild something. The brain knows exactly how much energy that costs. Changing yourself is expensive. It’s easier to rely on what already exists or borrow what the environment offers, then rationalize that this is the better option, even if it isn’t.

Unknowingly, people are cautious and meticulous about embracing new thoughts and ideas. They also handle their imagination and overall mental work sparingly. In a way, we protect our brains by relying more on common sense, habits born of past experience, or the wisdom and lessons passed down by older generations.

Sometimes people genuinely say they’re lazy, content with their status, or satisfied with the way things are. They back this up with plenty of explanations and arguments, focusing on possible difficulties or unsolvable problems. Imaginary obstacles become the perfect excuse for inaction. People aren’t ready to pay the price for change, but they can’t admit this, even to themselves. It’s not that they don’t want change — it’s that their brains resist it. The visual structures in the brain consume so much energy that it’s hard to comprehend. This is one reason why humans, without a pressing need, are reluctant to think deeply or reflect on complex issues.

Depending on people’s willingness to think and act — and their readiness to spend energy — they can be roughly divided into three groups: those who actively shape events, those who observe and understand what’s happening, and those who are constantly surprised by everything around them. If someone is always amazed by what’s going on, you can confidently guess they’re not ready to change anything, even the things that surprise them. Observing requires more energy than simply being surprised, while creating and managing is the most energy-intensive activity of all. But this energy expenditure is precisely what drives development.

A Multitude of Intelligences

If you are smart, where does your intelligence reside?

We did the impossible because we didn’t know it was impossible.

Anonymous

Humanity has survived mainly by countering the brute strength and agility of its environment with intellect. Today, we ask how and why a light appeared at the end of the evolutionary tunnel — the transformation of neural tissue into gray matter, the source of intelligence. Was it due to labor activity fostering new neural connections, walking on two legs that redirected and increased blood flow to the brain, or perhaps the constant need to replenish energy for movement and cognitive processes?

Humans avoided becoming just another link in the food chain because the brain gained a universal weapon: intelligence. This weapon enables strategies, adapts to circumstances, plans changes, organizes battle formations, and coordinates orderly retreats.

The term «intellect» comes from the Latin word meaning «understanding» or «cognition.» It encompasses not just the general ability to understand and learn but also the capacity to solve problems, achieve goals, and accomplish what we associate with personal success and happiness today.

Among the various types of intelligence, IQ (intelligence quotient) is the most recognized. Its prominence comes from the long history of IQ testing, the simplicity of representing results as a single, comparable number, and the standardization of tests, which aids in predicting professional qualities. IQ measures abilities such as setting goals, planning, strategizing, learning, and applying abstract concepts. However, it is now evident that IQ alone does not fully capture a person’s potential or guarantee life success. External factors, like iodine supplementation in developing countries, have even been shown to raise IQ scores. Ultimately, IQ tests demonstrate how well someone can take IQ tests.

To better understand the full range of brain capabilities, scientists and theorists concluded that one type of intelligence is insufficient. The theory of multiple intelligences emerged, proposing nearly ten distinct types. Each type reflects a dominant functional quality, making it easier for individuals to succeed professionally by leveraging their strongest type.

Joel Davitz and Michael Beldoch first highlighted this issue in 1964, and Howard Gardner laid the groundwork for the theory in 1983. Gardner, regarded as its founder, initially identified six types of intelligence, which later expanded. These include:

— Linguistic intelligence: Proficiency in written and spoken language.

— Logical-mathematical intelligence: The ability to handle numbers and logical operations.

— Musical intelligence: Sensitivity to rhythm, tone, and sound.

— Visual-spatial intelligence: Orientation and understanding of spatial relationships.

— Naturalistic intelligence: Awareness and understanding of nature.

— Kinesthetic intelligence: Physical coordination and body movement.

— Social and intrapersonal intelligence: Skills in social interactions and self-awareness.

As new professional fields and activities emerge, the list of intelligences may grow further.

Regardless of profession, there are core abilities that impact daily life and significantly shape one’s destiny. These are:

— IQ (intelligence quotient): The ability to learn, reason, remember, and solve problems.

— EQ (emotional quotient): Emotional intelligence, the ability to understand and manage one’s own and others’ emotions effectively.

— NQ (narrative quotient): Narrative intelligence, the least studied yet most critical ability to interpret and influence behaviors — both one’s own and others’ — to achieve goals.

NQ, in particular, governs how we manage people, moods, and entire lives. As the saying goes: «The one who knows remains silent, the one who speaks does not know.» Perhaps this is because narrative intelligence plays the leading role in shaping systems of human behavior and overall existence.

What Can Consciousness Really Do?

Why Is a Person Never to Blame?

People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls.

Carl Jung

The most critical function of human consciousness and intellect is adaptation — adjusting abilities to fit a current behavioral model that promotes survival. It is worth noting that consciousness performs this task exceptionally well. However, adapting to today’s «concrete jungle» is vastly different from how early humans adapted to the wild. Back then, adaptation primarily involved integrating into new food chains or adjusting to seasonal climate changes.

In modern times, adaptation is no longer passive mimicry or endless evolutionary refinement of organs and physiological processes. It is not about waiting for environmental changes and simply following along. Instead, effective adaptation today requires anticipating changes that do not yet exist and actively engaging with models of a predicted future.

Our consciousness constantly creates a representation of reality, modeling it and incorporating elements that do not actually exist in the real environment. The surrounding world is depicted in our consciousness as a network of interconnected narratives — stories that can be adjusted, restructured, explained, described, redefined, detailed, or entirely reimagined as virtual mental maps with their own navigation systems.

Using these mental maps, humans build strategies, create plans, and only then take action. This ability allows us to coordinate actions for an upcoming hunt or a soccer game, imagine the interior of a house, or conceptualize a business. This power of visualization and planning is one of the primary and essential capabilities of consciousness — but it is not the only one.

Humans possess a unique ability to imagine almost anything. They can also recreate past experiences in their minds, retell those stories to themselves, and relive those moments in their imagination — whether to marvel at them or feel sorrow. These reflections can lead to deep sadness, depression, or even suicidal thoughts.

Through imagination, we can experience emotions and thoughts not only about past events but also about things that have not yet happened. We can feel guilty about our past, our future, or for imagined or real reasons. This tendency can make existence unbearable. People often worry about things that do not exist and feel responsible for events that never occurred. As illogical and absurd as it sounds, this unique trait of consciousness is something we all encounter. Unfortunately, this extraordinary ability comes as a package deal with imagination, visualization, and planning.

However, nature does not concern itself with questions of guilt — whether in the past, present, or future. Concepts like «guilt,» «justice,» or «moral responsibility» are human inventions. Nature has a single purpose and meaning for all life on Earth: the continuation of life. From nature’s perspective, depression and suicide do not serve this purpose and fail to contribute to survival or reproduction.

Thus, consciousness has another critical function: the ability to find justifications and explanations for anything. Even when confessing to the gravest crime, a person will always point to external factors: an unhappy family, bad company, government policies, terrible weather, or other circumstances. This unique capacity to rationalize and justify surpasses all other human abilities. It happens so seamlessly and automatically that we are often unaware of it, as this mechanism of self-preservation works independently and covertly.

Consider this question: «Would you help someone who suddenly collapses on the street?» Most people answer affirmatively. Yet, when faced with such a situation, the same individual might ask themselves countless questions, all aimed at finding reasons not to help. They might assume the person is a hobo or a drug addict, thereby feeling less responsible. Or they might notice other bystanders and rationalize that someone else has likely already called for help. A doctor might worry about legal repercussions for malpractice. Only after all these internal deliberations might the individual decide to help — if at all.

Much of what happens in our consciousness is rapid and imperceptible, yet people are governed and influenced by the questions they ask themselves. For instance, motivational speeches by politicians often pose the question, «Who, if not you?» However, in our minds, this question transforms into, «If not me, then who?» leading us to seek someone else to take action. Francis Bacon once said that a good question is half the answer. Based on recent studies, he may have understated it — a good question might be even more than half the answer.

A person’s words do not always reflect their true intentions and may be perceived differently by others. Many people admit that their statements do not always convey their genuine feelings. However, others must respond to those words, often at personal risk. It is also risky to assume people consistently express their true emotions.

Bright and recent events leave strong impressions, which we often use as examples when modeling future scenarios. Yet, such examples can be misleading: the best, worst, or even yesterday’s day may not accurately reflect a typical day. As a result, unfavorable events often seem worse than they are, while anticipated joyful events may not live up to expectations.

Humans strive to explain everything to themselves, constructing coherent systems of narratives to reflect their world. This sense of order is vital because it provides certainty about the present and future, boosting confidence and reducing anxiety and depression.

Surveys conducted during the pandemic revealed that uncertainty was the greatest source of distress for most people. Uncertainty means a lack of clear, coherent narratives about the future — an absence of direction, clarity, and closure, with endless potential outcomes and endings. This is what consciousness tirelessly combats, continuously crafting a framework of explanatory and justifying narratives.

Summary

The human brain is an extraordinarily powerful machine for modeling and shaping the present and the future. At the core of its functioning lies the principle of energy conservation. People can be convinced of anything by influencing their main channels of perception and eliciting emotions. Consciousness possesses numerous abilities, and it has two primary functions: to adapt to changes in the environment, and to justify and explain the decisions and actions chosen for that adaptation.

PART TWO. NARRATOLOGY

Narratives

A special way of presenting a story, which includes the story itself.

The Universe is made of stories, not of atoms.

Muriel Rukeyser

The term «narrative» (from the Latin narrare, meaning «to tell») refers broadly to a story about interconnected events presented as a sequence of words, images, or a combination of both. The difference between a narrative and a story is that a story is a sequence of events based on the actions of its characters, including a plot, structure, and characters. A narrative, however, is a particular way of presenting that story, incorporating the story itself.

The term «narrative» was borrowed from historiography, specifically from the concept of «narrative history.» According to this approach, historical events are not seen as the outcomes of inevitable processes but are understood within the context of their description and interpretation. Context and interpretation are central to this method because they introduce subjective meaning into history. Without distorting facts and actions, they allow the narrative to include elements that shape how events are perceived and understood, thus influencing their outcomes. These outcomes are expressed as ideas, actions, and conclusions. Through interpretation, a complex web of events, facts, and actions becomes organized around the purpose and causality of the narrative — what we call its meaning.

People tell stories as a sequence of words, constructing them into vivid images and processes. This sequence can be seen not only as a series of events resulting from certain processes but also as the context of those events. It reflects the storyteller’s attitude toward the story, how they narrate it, and for what purpose.

Recently, under the influence of political science, the term «narrative» has acquired an additional meaning in many languages and media: a «statement containing a worldview or directive.» This is a striking definition, particularly given the emphasis on the term «directive.»

The field that studies narratives and provides general principles for creating them is called narratology. Narratology examines texts from two perspectives: on the one hand, as stories in terms of their content and events; on the other, as the form of narrative expression. But within the narrative form itself, there is a third aspect — one that integrates the first two: content and form. This third aspect focuses on the story’s direction, its intended audience, and the alignment of its form, imagery, and language with its purpose and meaning.

In this third dimension, the author and the narrator — key elements of narrative theory — can employ a wide range of techniques and provocations. In a narrative, everything lies in the hands of the author. They can highlight the fictional nature of the story or, conversely, its authenticity. They might present the same events — or the entire story — from completely opposing perspectives. The author may position themselves as a witness to events, a character in the story, or adopt a detached, abstract tone.

A narrator can express an individual, emotional perspective, offering their evaluative viewpoint as the story’s author. Alternatively, they might conceal this viewpoint within the narrative’s subtleties — its perspectives and underlying meanings.

A narrator might even intentionally marginalize themselves, reject authorship, or distance themselves from the story to avoid revealing their own stance. They could play with the narrative through irony, humor, absurdity, or even discredit the story being told. The possibilities are so vast that it becomes challenging to determine how closely the actual author aligns with the language of the narrative.

Creating stories has always been akin to «crafting another reality,» a new model of the world. Narration is not merely a description of this model but a kind of manual explaining it and showing how to act within it. Imagine you are explaining the rules of a game. In doing so, you create an illusion of the game itself. This illusion inevitably includes the person learning the rules and the players acting in near-realistic conditions. Narratives function similarly.

Through storytelling, we construct an even greater illusion, one indistinguishable from reality. To hold the audience’s interest, a series of events is transformed into an engaging and instructive narrative. The appeal of the plot comes not only from its events but also from the emotions and experiences of the characters. These experiences can become so vivid that they are depicted as full scenes, conveyed without words — like the performances of skilled actors whose meaningful pauses speak louder than monologues.

By studying narratives, we come to understand that events, characters, and actions are not always the driving forces behind what happens. Instead, the entire story often revolves around an idea or meaning — subjective interpretations brought by the narrator to guide the audience’s thinking. Ironically, «narrative bias» — the distortion of a story — is an inherent part of narrative thought.

Examples of well-crafted narratives include the promises of presidential candidates, Andersen’s fairy tales, Solomon’s proverbs, and the history of a nation as told in school textbooks. With the right skills, one can present stories from personal life just as effectively. And what teaches better than one’s own life and its stories? Perhaps only the expertly crafted stories of others.

The Relevance of the Issue

Opportunities are what we allow ourselves to be.

What happens is of little significance compared with the stories we tell ourselves about what happens. Events matter little, only stories of events affect us.

Rabih Alameddine

In their book Story Intelligence, Richard Stone and Scott Livengood cite studies showing that four out of ten people in the United States struggle to find a clear purpose in life, while a quarter lack a clear understanding of what makes life meaningful. The renowned French neurologist and psychiatrist Boris Cyrulnik, known as the «father of resilience,» claims that the ability to make life meaningful stems from transforming the pain of experiences through creativity, including art. Cyrulnik’s most effective professional tool was storytelling. Put simply, those who cannot become the authors of their own stories lose their sense of meaning in life.

The ability to bring meaning to one’s life and the lives of others, set compelling goals, uncover deeper purposes, and initiate actions are all functions of narrative intelligence. According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, the system of concepts within a person’s mind — and therefore their thinking — is shaped by their language. On average, men and women speak about sixteen thousand words per day, and internally, they process nearly five times more through thoughts. Behavior ultimately reflects the result of these internal conversations, judgments, ideas, and perceptions. These internal narratives, or story-programs, guide individuals depending on their circumstances. Narratives determine how people perceive, imagine, and act. They bring clarity to life’s meaning and help individuals move forward into the future. It is clear that studying this «language of storytelling» — a language that shapes behavior — is highly relevant.