Fiction Prescription: The Real Benefits of Made-Up Stories
Science shows that reading fiction makes people more comfortable with uncertainty and improves "theory of mind" - that is, the ability to see the world from someone else's point of view.
Here to discuss the reasons why: Maria Konnikova, who writes about psychology and culture for The New Yorker online and the author of Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes (Viking, 2013), and Simon Critchley, professor of philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York and author of his first novel Memory Theater (Other Press, 2015).
→ And don't forget to vote: the nominating period for the NYC Neighborhood Library Awards continues. Click here to nominate your local library for a chance to win $20,000.
→ What work of fiction made YOU more open-minded? We're compiling a list of fictional works that made you less certain about your opinions using The List App. Download the app (it's free) to add to our list, and tweet your suggestions using #FictionOpensMinds.
→ Event: You can hear Simon Critchley at a book reading at McNally Jackson Book Store in Nolita on November 23rd (more information here) and at BookCourt in Brooklyn on November 24th (see details here).
Add your suggestions to our list: BOOKS THAT MADE YOU MORE OPEN-MINDED ✚ by WNYC Radio #FictionOpensMinds https://t.co/RocCwLbCdn
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) November 23, 2015
@BrianLehrer I read Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” when I was 13 and have been a vegetarian ever since. (I’m now in my 30s).
— Laura Norén (@digitalFlaneuse) November 23, 2015
Naked Lunch by William S Burroughs taught me to be more forgiving of chronology. #fictionopensminds @BrianLehrer
— jenna josepher (@DeeJennarate) November 23, 2015
In college, Franny and Zooey made me question my devout atheism #fictionopensminds @BrianLehrer
— BrooklynSkulls (@BrooklynSkulls) November 23, 2015
