Reflections 26th March

Mayflies, Acorns and Social Calculus.

Photo by Erik Karits on Unsplash

Every story we tell is multi-faceted; there are many ways we and others can look at it. It’s one of the reasons why myth is so powerful. We can all relate to it in our own way.

There is a form of calculus for every story we relate to. They only stretch so far before they become somehow thin, and lose their propulsive power. When we promote a story as “truth”, we deprive other people of the benefit of interpreting the story for themselves; we deny them authority, disrespect and disable them. If our story is sound, it will stand up to scrutiny, provide others with platforms of their own and any feedback we get will only strengthen it.

“If you're explaining, you're losing.”

Ronald Reagan, The Reagan Diaries

The stories we tell have a half life, of weeks at best, and in that time, whilst they may be seen by thousands, they will only resonate enough to trigger a difference with a limited number of people. After that, they are in an infinitely long tail of digi…