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Our brain is wired to constantly making up stories...

I am sure many of you know the Heider & Simmel experiment from 1944. A small group of people was shown the below trickfilm and asked to describe what they see. Only one described it as geometrical figures on the screen moving around (in somewhat more details). The others made up various stories around what they saw. And those were quite elaborate. Many said, that the two triangles where men fighting over a girl or a woman (circle).


When asked to characterize the big triangle, 97% gave attributes like "Aggressive, warlike, mean, angry, bad-tempered, bully, villain, taking advantage of his size, picking on smaller people, dominating, power-loving, possessive" etc.


Test it for yourself! What story do you find in this film? 🎬


My lesson from this is: If we do not give enough context to what we show, the audience will fill in the blank with their own imagination. Give the story, so that you do not end up with n interpretations of a story that has never been told. But actually own the narrative and tell your story.


What's yours?



Video Source: YouTube



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