In Africa, the Art of Listening
drewvigal commenting the article In Africa, the Art of listening on the NYTimes
“… Homo sapiens might be Homo narrans, the storytelling person.”
Brilliant. I love this sentiment.
“Western literature is normally linear; it proceeds from beginning to end without major digressions in space or time…. Here, instead of linear narrative, there is unrestrained and exuberant storytelling that skips back and forth in time and blends together past and present. Someone who may have died long ago can intervene without any fuss in a conversation between two people who are very much alive.”
I’d like to think of an application for this in Redefining of Interactive Narratives.
“Many people make the mistake of confusing information with knowledge. They are not the same thing. Knowledge involves the interpretation of information. Knowledge involves listening.”
Again, reminds me of Al Tompkins’ mantra: “people remember what they feel longer than what they know.”
