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Chapter one
Myth


The Big Bang Is Hard Science. It Is Also a Creation Story.
Even with its explanatory power, Big Bang theory takes its place in a long line of myths.

Our Brains Tell Stories So We Can Live
Without inner narratives we would be lost in a chaotic world.
Chapter two
Fable

The Great Silence
A parrot has a question for humans.

A Novelist Teaches Herself Physics
To explore loss and mystery, Nell Freudenberger journeyed into the atomic world.

To Fix the Climate, Tell Better Stories
The missing climate change narrative.
Chapter three
Biography

Humans Are Wired for Goodness
We’re not as bad as the headlines make us out to be.

Survival of the Friendliest
It’s time to give the violent metaphors of evolution a break.

Is Tribalism a Natural Malfunction?
What computers teach us about getting along.
Chapter four
Legend

The Tricky Problem with Other Minds
How our mental states overlap with and diverge from those of other species.

Human Emotions Are Personal Narratives
Neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux on what makes our brains unique.

Homo Narrativus and the Trouble with Fame
We think that fame is deserved. We are wrong.
Chapter five
Imagine

How American Tycoons Created the Dinosaur
The story of dinosaurs is also the story of capitalism.

A Hologram Shows How Space Could Pop Into Existence
The holographic principle—with a real hologram.

Metaphors Are Us
War, murder, music, art. We would have none without metaphor.

Why Monster Stories Captivate Us
Our brains are compelled by category violations.
Related Facts So Romantic
“Reality provides us with facts so romantic that imagination itself could add nothing to them.” —Jules Verne
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