The average daydream is about fourteen seconds long and we have about two thousand of them per day. In other words, we spend about half of our waking hours - one-third of our lives on earth - spinning fantasies. — Jonathan Gottschall Copy Share Image
In my profession more generally, it's not an exaggeration to say that masculinity is viewed as the root of all evil. If you were to take a literary theory course, you might think it would be about literature, but it's… — Jonathan Gottschall Copy Share Image
I think what bothers us about fighting sports isn't the damage to the athlete but the fact that you win by doing more harm… — Jonathan Gottschall Copy Share Image
If someone breaks into your home when you're there - that is, they don't wait to be sure that the house is empty -… — Jonathan Gottschall Copy Share Image
Part of why I was attracted to the idea of owning a gun was self-defense, and part of it was that I've been fascinated… — Jonathan Gottschall Copy Share Image
Human minds yield helplessly to the suction of story. No matter how hard we concentrate, no matter how deep we dig in our heels,… — Jonathan Gottschall Copy Share Image
“As the video game designer and writer James Wallis puts it, “Human beings like stories. Our brains have a natural affinity not only for… — Jonathan Gottschall Copy Share Image
In an effort to civilize combat sports, authorities mandated padded gloves and instantly made the sports far more savage. Granted, putting gloves on the… — Jonathan Gottschall Copy Share Image
People like head trauma. They love knockouts. The crowd is silent, silent, silent... and then a knockout happens, and everyone goes native. There would… — Jonathan Gottschall Copy Share Image
Fiction seems to be more effective at changing beliefs than nonfiction, which is designed to persuade through argument and evidence. Studies show that when… — Jonathan Gottschall Copy Share Image
We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories. — Jonathan Gottschall Copy Share Image
Getting punched in the face with a padded glove doesn't really hurt your face. It doesn't hurt your skull. The only thing it hurts… — Jonathan Gottschall Copy Share Image
Story is where people go to practice the key skills of human social life. — Jonathan Gottschall Copy Share Image
The brain stays up all night telling stories while we sleep. We just call them dreams. — Jonathan Gottschall Copy Share Image
