Sunday, November 4, 2018
Relevance Post: Exaggeration
This last week we talked a bit about how stories are told in the future, especially about great feats. We talked about how these stories are often exaggerated when told after the events. They are made up to be much grander than what originally happened. This exaggerated story telling has been common among cultures for centuries. The 'fish tale' is even a cliche on an over exaggerated story. I understand that over time minor details will be taken off important stories and therefore the story will change slightly. I find it interesting though how it seems many of these details are the details about either the hardships faced by the 'heroes' or the amount of resistance are either lessened or exaggerated respectively. Why do you think we as people feel the need to exaggerate great deeds such as the ones we talked about in class? Fish tales are one thing but these great deeds feel like they don't need the exaggeration they are given.
1 comment:
Tulkas,
What an interesting post! I think that there are two reasons why stories change and become exaggerated over time. Firstly, throughout the ages, storytellers have made a living by travelling and telling fantastical stories. There would have come a point when their stories were no longer new and interesting and the stories would have to be embellished to keep the interest of their listeners. Secondly, the fact that stories are passed down as oral histories contributes to the exaggeration. Many believe that our memories are made up of carbon copies of events that we have experienced, but studies are showing that our memories change greatly over time. (If you are interested in this, Malcolm Gladwell has a great podcast episode on this subject.) Basically, after retrieving the details of a particular memory, our brains mix in details from our current perspective into that memory. After doing this, the human brain is likely to remember this new form of the story as if it were the original event. Because of this, I believe that the changing of stories over time is less indicative of the human need for exaggeration and more related to the true workings of our memory. I'm interested in hearing what others think about this.
-Estë
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