Jonathan Gottschall Quotes

We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.

The brain stays up all night telling stories while we sleep. We just call them dreams.

We are creatures of story, and the process of changing one mind or the whole world must begin with 'Once upon a time.'

Story is where people go to practice the key skills of human social life.

We are a species addicted to a stories.

I'm living in the heart of gun culture, but I'm not a gun guy. I didn't grow up with them; I was never a hunter; my dad was never a hunter.

People like head trauma. They love knockouts. The crowd is silent, silent, silent... and then a knockout happens, and everyone goes native. There would be far fewer knockouts without the gloves.

Bull riding is probably the most dangerous sport in the world in terms of head injuries.

I don't think people are reacting primarily to the danger of the sport. There are many other activities that are truly dangerous that we have no inclination to ban.

I watch fights and I often feel morally compromised by it. I feel like I'm morally culpable for what's occurring because I'm the spectator and ultimately footing the bill for the spectacle.

I think what bothers us about fighting sports isn't the damage to the athlete but the fact that you win by doing more harm to your opponent than he does to you. It just seems ugly.

A boxing contest is a brain-damage contest. Who can give out more brain damage and who can absorb more of it?

I think the proper attitude toward fighting sports is one of ambivalence. You can be drawn to them, but you should also be repelled by them.

When you spar in boxing, the only thing that gets hurt is your brain. Everything else feels pretty good.

We are critical and skeptical. But when we are absorbed in a story, we drop our intellectual guard.

Human minds yield helplessly to the suction of story. No matter how hard we concentrate, no matter how deep we dig in our heels, we just can't resist the gravity of alternate worlds.

If you want to burrow a message into a human mind. Work it into a story

Fiction is an ancient virtual reality technology that specializes in simulating human problems.

Story is more akin to the lines on your palm. No matter what your fortuneteller claims, the lines are not maps of your future. They are side effects of the flexion of the hand.

Story = Character + Predicament + Attempted Extrication