Vivid stories travel farther than "well, it's complicated" stories.

· Bits and Bobs 4/28/25
  • Vivid stories travel farther than "well, it's complicated" stories.
    • Viral stories used to travel better millenia ago in the era of chieftains because there was a ton of friction for information transmission.
      • The vivid story about the chief who drank the blood of his vanquished enemy from his skull efficiently traveled, creating a reputation of "don't mess with that guy!"
    • Now there's no friction but you compete with a cacophony so vivid stories are also necessary now if you want the information to travel, but for a different reason.
    • In a world of infinite content and frictionless transmission, the "vivid story" person technique becomes dominant.
    • Deranged actions are naturally vivid stories.
      • "He did what?"
    • The modern information environment selects for derangement.

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