Is Your Brain a Tool?

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In the case of frankenstein, as i talk about in the book, it hasn't a technology in it which has been tested scientifically. It's obvious and intuitive when you watch a certain kind of horror story, is it triggers these fiter flight responses. For algernon, it seems to me that the effect it had for you was the ability to kind of unlock a certain kind of grief and mourning. But i think that your brain might be the more important thing in the equation here. Kno schools think about literature differently than our brain does.

Michael speaks with neuroscientist and literature professor Dr. Angus Fletcher about 25 of the most powerful developments in the history of literature, from ancient Mesopotamia to Elena Ferrante. Fletcher says these literary technologies can alleviate grief, trauma, loneliness, anxiety, numbness, depression, pessimism, and ennui — all while sparking creativity, courage, love, empathy, hope, joy, and positive change. Fletcher is a professor of story science at Ohio State’s Project Narrative, the world’s leading academic think-tank for the study of stories. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.