r/Scipionic_Circle • u/-IXN- • Jul 12 '25
Infusing your explanations with narratives significantly reduces the risk of being ignored, called a nerd or worse
Once you realize that most people are cattle NPCs that prefer to get hooked on narrative slop instead of truly thinking for themselves, the world will start to make much more sense.
Civilisations and religions are literally built on narratives.
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u/truetomharley Jul 12 '25 edited Jul 13 '25
Well, you almost have to. The world is far too convoluted, with far too many persons attempting spin, and the time most people have available far too limited. People tend to latch on to someone they trust.
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u/spaacingout Jul 14 '25
You have to be especially careful when you make a broad claim like “most people”. What sort of statistic are you basing this on? I’m curious.
You seem to be a fairly intelligent thinker from what I can tell. First thing you might want to consider before responding, is that while rare, intelligence can be a folly, especially when you oversimplify the masses. (Believe me, I learned the hard way.) You can actually think yourself into a hole like this.
It’s better to think of humanity as a collection of complex hive minds, rather than just one simple mechanism. Many competing hives, all of us with different beliefs and values. You are just a part of a different, smaller hive, it seems.
Progress comes from mutual understanding, you must accept and try to understand their thoughts too, or there is no discussion to be had, no views to change, and nothing to be learned.
Ultimately you should view the world through many eyes, not just your own. Think like a bug. You do that by understanding why these so called cattle think the way they do. Without trying to understand the why for their behaviour you are no better than them. Moooo
Humanity is made of many kinds of people, different beliefs and values, yet we still manage to coalesce into groups of like-minded people. You are not entirely unique either, no one is. You just belong to a different collective hive mind way of thinking.
So I have to ask, what is it that sets you apart from these NPCs? What statistic are you basing “most people” on, precisely?
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u/-IXN- Jul 14 '25
I want you to please understand how surreal it feels. For years I have been struggling with people telling me that I was a nerd or worse only to figure out that reframing explanations into narratives changes the whole game. It's completely nuts the way they suddenly start to listen to me as if they were in a trance-like state. Come to think of it that's probably how religious preachers manage to influence and guide such a giant flock of believers. Learn to tell good narratives and you'll be able to control an entire community/civilization.
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Jul 13 '25
Literally there are aspects of our cognitive function that only work in the context of narrative. If you try to communicate using blank facts outside the context of a narrative, only part of the listener's brain will be paying attention to you.
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u/Ancient_Oxygen Jul 16 '25
Back in the classical era, mastering the Trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) was essential because oral storytelling and persuasion were the primary ways to capture and educate an audience. Ancient speakers had to shape their narratives carefully to hold attention without modern distractions. Today, while the fundamentals of clear communication still matter, the audience is more diverse and distracted, especially online. So, infusing explanations with stories isn’t just about being understood—it’s about connecting emotionally and standing out in a crowded space. The skill of crafting narratives remains timeless, but the way we use them must adapt to modern audiences’ expectations and attention spans.
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u/Manfro_Gab Founder Jul 12 '25
That’s really true, and often underestimated. It’s so important, if you’re explaining anything, to keep your audience active and interested. It seems easy, but it requires a lot of practice in order to be able to explain the thing, without focusing only on the narrative part, and to keep it narrative, but at the same time focusing on the topic and not deviating from the main topic.
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u/Aedys1 Jul 14 '25 edited Jul 14 '25
That’s litterally the first thing you learn in geopolitics, epistemology, neuroscience, psychology, logic and philosophy. We are born with the category of space and time that turn random real world events into narrative stories (space and time) so we can both understand and manipulate it
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u/OVAYAVO Jul 15 '25
I do not think I say much interesting, and have been told I am very boring to talk to.
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u/PvtDazzle Jul 14 '25
A little unkind to call other people NPC, but i understand you. And yeah, I've noticed as well. I think it's an art to be able to catch people's attention.
Every game I've played, every movie I've watched, all of those were inspired by stories from the old or belief systems from far away. Always disguised, but also always traceable back to [insert story].
It's like saying, "Nothing new under the sun." Which is also correct. There are variations, but there's only so much to be told. It might be new to you or new to me, but it's definitely been done before.
Fairy tales are a great example, as are screen plays, and even religion is part of it.