The Power of Stories over Simple Facts

Dragon

Dragon

I was just reading about a study that shows children learn better from stories than facts.

Duh.

There is a reason why story-telling has been the preferred teaching method for millenia in our species.

You see, our brain has what is called “mirror neurons”. They have only one function: They recreate what we see someone else do and feel, so we can feel it ourselves. To a degree, of course.

And even though I’m not sure it has ever been tested, I believe those mirror neurons do that very same thing when we read a story. They don’t do that when we learn a plain old fact since there is nothing to recreate.

And if those stories are fantastic and out of this world – even better! They are much more stimulating than a story that’s about boring, every day experiences.

So I count myself lucky (or maybe perceptive?) that I prefer fantasy and SF as genres for reading and writing. After all, this is where you can get stuff that’s out of this world!

And since I’m still a little bored, I’m looking for recommendations: What’s your favorite fantasy or SF story?

About Hannah Steenbock

Hannah Steenbock is an author, dreamer, and coach. She has published several short stories in English and German, as well as one novel in German. In 2013 she started self-publishing her work. In 2014, she has won two awards for her short story "Sequoia".
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