Арсен Аветисов – Homo narrare. Narrative Intelligence 3.0: Managing Reality and Influencing People (страница 6)
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.
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.