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@ParadoxNow_ talks about how storytelling can be a means for transformative growth, and how stories usually have some hidden truth.

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supports and underpins this view with his own experience & example. I think I agree with both of those things, as stated.

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What I'm struggling with here, is that it seems especially hard not just to get people to abandon stories (bad, for reasons I'll touch on),-

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- but that getting any traction at all in changing the thrust of those stories is nigh-impossible, even with empathy & opportunity.

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Storytelling is inextricably linked with survival. Without a story to tell, people die. No meaning -> no reason to live. No conflict there.

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So we need stories and I'm not saying we should get rid of those, just so we're clear. I don't think that's desirable.

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We use stories to get around the world, define ourselves against others, try to understand ourselves and countless more things, obviously.

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The problem is some of these stories are poisonous, to ourselves, others or both. E.g. "I'm all that matters," the story of a sociopath.

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Let's return to heuristics. Stories are heuristical. They teach general truths at the cost of precision when applied to individual cases.

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Heuristics are fucking awesome. Without them we wouldn't be much good at making decisions. But they work over an array of situations.

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When we try to use a heuristic to explain discrete situations instead of to steer habits & responses, they break down. It's not their job.

7:15 AM · Aug 29, 2017Twitter Web Client

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Having a story about yourself, there's nothing more tempting than to explain -everything- with recourse to the story you're telling.

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So that's fine, you can have your story about yourself. You'll get a lot of stuff wrong, but you can at least make effective decisions.

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