The Evolutionary Advantage of Storytelling

Darwin's Lab
Darwin's Lab
729
0
Published 2023-12-19
Storytelling on the Surface makes no sense. Why would any animal, focused on surviving, spend so much time in made-up fantasy?

But as we'll see, storytelling is actually one of the most impactful skills anybody could spend time learning.

Today we'll discuss the evolution of storytelling, how it evolved, why its something we still practice, and how storytelling impacts fitness.

Music: Kinou - Deebu · Zoltan David Beladi
Link:    • Kinou  

Thanks in large part to Brian Boyds research:
www.researchgate.net/publication/261970458_On_the_…

Timestamps
0:00 - Intro
2:03 - Play, Narrative and Language
2:58 - The Evolution of Recall Memory
6:56 - The 4 Pillars of the Cognitive Niche
9:02 - Evidence in the form of Toolmaking
10:06 - How would Ancient Humans Teach?
11:36 - the Evolution of Speech: Mimesis
16:30 - Phenotypic Plasticity
18:45 - The Evolution of Narrative
22:04 - Is Narrative Selfish? It has an Impact on Fitness
24:37 - The Language Niche
25:39 - The Role of Imagination
27:52 - The Evolution of Fictional Stories
29:35 - Dreaming Has a Role
30:43 - The Evolutionary Benefit of Play
33:24 - The Impact of Storytelling On Fitness, Culture, and Happiness
37:45 - Fictional Storytelling is an Adaptation we Created
All Comments (10)
  • @aliquida7132
    Another great video. I have always thought that people under-estimate the importance of storytelling. When someone voices concern over a children's book or movie (for whatever reason), you often see a response of "stop making such a big deal about it, it is just a kid's story"... but the messages, morals and values that are presented in these stories are absorbed deeply into children's minds and help build the culture and society of the future. Sure, one story told one time to a child might not make a huge difference. It is a cumulation of all of the stories. But stories matter, and they aren't something trivial to be dismissed, they show who we are. We are so used to the typical underlying messages, that we don't even notice them anymore. But look at children's stories from previous generations, or read/watch something from a completely different culture... and then the cultural norms jump right out.
  • @JJ-ml9sj
    I'm really far away from my long-term goal of writing a novel, but it's kinda awesome that there are some compelling stories about how storytelling emerged as so relevant to human evolution. I like when I can feel as though I am using an ancient skill set - its an interesting juxtaposition next to my opposing IT-related skill set :)
  • @IcePhoenixMusician
    Just wanted to say, I got busy. I’m starting my watch-a-thon of the videos I hadn’t watched for the month or so of releases. So I’m watching this now
  • @noxnq
    on ong my favorite channel right now, I love the deep dives you do. You are filling a void of edutainment that is lacking on youtube. LEgend
  • @keeanlittmann6920
    What a cool idea for a video! Can’t wait to watch it. Btw that thumbnail is sick
  • @izzymosley1970
    I think I just figured out why I like watching videos about things like this even though I'm agnostic about the theory of evolution it's probably because two reasons one I like learning about things even if they're not important and too I love stories both real or fictional. I think I'll stay subscribe to this channel despite my personal beliefs just for the fun of it. I've been watching YouTube for a majority of my life if I got to say congratulations you can make some pretty high quality videos.
  • @GIGADEV690
    Make video about evolutionary advantage\process of listening music.