Homo Sapiens for millennia trudged the earth as marginal creatures, a mere blip on the ecological radar.
So how did us Sapiens, who are believed to be insubordinate, gain such an advantage over them and become the masters of our world? The answer? Stories.
The answer to our innate ability to coordinate between the millions of people in the world stems in the stories we weave and spread.
All living organisms have a language, a vocal vocabulary through shrieks, howls, and even dances they used to communicate, so what do we do different? We have the ability to contrive a plethora of sentences with limited signs and syllables. And each with a different meaning. This not only lead to relaying information about potential threat or shelter, but a second nature unique to humans- gossiping. Which is the art of telling everyday stories.
Social cooperation was our key for survival, and through gossiping bands of humans could keep track of whom to trust and whom to be wary of, be it cheats or freeloaders.
Gossip led the way to be able to talk about entities that didn’t exist at all. About ghosts, spirits, sorcerers, witches and eventually to kingdoms, money, countries, heaven which they had no proof or seen any physical manifestation of!
And in this lies the collective success of our species. Being able to communicate with people in different countries, all with different ideologies, currencies, religions etc, being able to agree on the universal nature of religion, the value of a single dollar, or maybe even the promise of heaven on being righteous.
These myths and stories allow Sapiens to cooperate flexibly with strangers around the world. And thus, we are the rulers.
We are essentially made of collective stories, the stories we project into world, with each being more intricate and complex than the next.
So, the next time someone tells you to not engage in idle gossip, tell them our language evolved for this very purpose!
By : Vismaya Murali
8th Semester
Gopalan School of Architecture and Planning