The Benshi

It’s like reading the rule book first. If you read the Kristoff article you wouldn’t find yourself mystified by this image.

OH MY GOODNESS, WHAT A TRAGEDY! It’s called human nature. Learn a few things about storytelling and your life won’t be quite as filled with frustration and confusion.

kristoff waltz

READ THE RULE BOOK

This image is making the rounds on Facebook with lots of people agreeing with the punch line of, “The society we live in is really messed up.” Yeah, whatever.

If you understood the basic dynamics of how we perceive these things (largely through the telling of stories) — which you can get a good start on simply by committing to heart the simple principles laid out by Nicholas Kristof in his timeless Outside Magazine article — you wouldn’t be so amazed by this Facebook message.

It’s like watching a baseball game, not knowing the rules, and being baffled by the fact that, “Every time someone hits the ball they take off running — why is that?”

Read the rule book and you won’t be so confused.