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Why humans need fiction, according to neuroscience

Big Think | May 15, 2026



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What if the voice in your head is less of a witness and more of an interpreter? Two neuroscientists discuss the brain’s drive to explain, narrate, and make everything add up.

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Stories do not just entertain us; they may be one of the main ways our brains rehearse experience, assign meaning, and turn scattered moments into something that feels like a self. We are constantly sorting actions, memories and emotion into a version of events that feels coherent enough to live inside. Neuroscientists Michael Gazzaniga, PhD and Dean Buonomano, PhD draw on split-brain research to explain the left hemisphere’s “Interpreter”: the brain’s tendency to create explanations for behavior, even when it does not have the full picture.The instinct to create narratives likely shapes far more than self-understanding. It may underpin identity, belief, and the desire to belong in the world.

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Comments

This post currently has 34 comments.

  1. @dacokc

    May 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm

    I prefer non-fiction over fiction…

    The way I see it is there is so much to learn in this world… why waste time/space with fiction?

    Unless, it's just about parables to learn life lessons.

  2. @907-q7u

    May 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm

    I have anendophasia, SDAM and anendophasia. I can reverse all 3, but I mainly focus on reversing anendophasia because I can do it on-demand and access my inactive inner-monologue. The layer is transparent and has always been there, just inactive. When I reverse the anendophasia and SDAM, my inner-monologue blends in and takes over and teaches me things I struggled to understand, I just sit back and learn until the dose wears off. I can learn/comprehend and think deeply and intuitively which I normally cannot do.

    This completely reverses my learning disability, but it's only momentary until the dose wears off and I slip back to my limited state. I would like to speak with someone about this because I would like help. I can explain a lot about living with the limitations and what it's like having the limitations momentarily removed.

  3. @Levelupinsidestudio

    May 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm

    This is fascinating because it suggests that identity is not something we simply “have” but something our brain is constantly constructing through narrative.

    Perhaps the stories we tell ourselves are less about recalling reality perfectly and more about creating enough meaning to move forward coherently in the world.

  4. @betterchapter

    May 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm

    Fiction’s depth really does stick with you in ways a list of habits can't. Using wise bits stories for a quick dive into classic tales has been pretty enlightening.

  5. @FundsSeeker-fy5rv

    May 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm

    This paychologist is delusional if he thinks all humans need fictional narratives. I have always found fiction boring because to me its not real. I have not read a fictional story since i was at school fifty years ago and i am well educated with three university qualifications, two degress and post graduate qualifications. So what he is concluding is BS although having a psychology degree i believe his research is useful.

  6. @thegonersclub

    May 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm

    THE NARRATIVE SEDATION

    You don’t just watch movies.. You live one inside your head 24/7. That "little narrator" in your skull.. The voice you think is "you".. Is actually a sedation-program installed by the King-Priest apparatus. It spins a constant fiction to explain away why your primate body is stressed, tired, and exploited. Even neuroscience is trapped in this lie, treating your "personality" like it’s real instead of seeing it as the exhaust of a biochemical machine.

    Whose voice is talking in your head when you’re alone?

  7. @Halvar-p4q

    May 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm

    This is fascinating. I wonder if other animals also interpret their environment through narratives, and when our brains evolved narratives.

    And then I wonder about plants, which have no brains. How do they interpret their environment? They definitely do, as the plant by my window turns its branches and leaves to capture the best sunlight.

  8. @JohnnyAlberta

    May 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm

    This is great, but eastern philosophies have been teaching this for millennia. Buddhists call the interpreter the “monkey mind”, because it’s often agitated and bouncing around from one thing to another. Here’s the really interesting question: if the interpreter is telling “me” stories, who is this “me”? Eastern philosophies have talked about that for millennia as well. Western scientists and philosophers are bogged down in endless discussions about “consciousness”, and they’re baffled…

  9. @Surface_Depth

    May 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm

    The split-brain patient is the clearest version of something that's running in everyone. Joe's left hemisphere didn't know why he pointed to the bell, so it made up a reason – and delivered it with complete confidence. No hesitation. No sense that it was guessing.
    That's not a malfunction. That's the interpreter doing exactly what it always does. Every time you explain a decision, a reaction, a preference – that explanation arrives after the act, not before it. The left hemisphere's job is to keep the story coherent. And it's very good at that job.
    The uncomfortable part isn't that we fabricate things. It's that this "fabrication" feels exactly like insight. You can't tell the difference from the inside between genuinely knowing why you did something and the interpreter filling in the blank.

  10. @TheAlchemistZero1

    May 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm

    Finite Nature vs Infinite Nature:

    Everything naturally occurring is Nature, which includes plants, microorganisms, humans (all lifeforms), atoms, energy, stars, planets, black holes, cancer, AIDS, space, Dreams, and Consciousness. 

    (Why would Nature be finite?)

    Without Infinity, there is only infinite regress; E.g. String Theory: what caused the strings, where did the strings come from, what came before the strings; E.g. The Big Bang: what caused the initial singularity, what came before the initial singularity, etc. Considering "Nothingness" is an obvious fallacy, there must always be Something. 

    Prove Nothingness, while keeping in mind: Nothingness can only be "proven" in the absence of an observer. If described (observed) by an observer, Nothing becomes something (think hard about this). This would also connote a field of infinite Nothingness randomly formed a spec (our Universe) of somethingness – which is nonsensical.

    Provisional science cannot claim authority over reality, at best it can only provide fuzzy hints. Science is a game of "let’s pretend," played with symbols and sensors. Its power lies in utility, not truth. To mistake physics/maths for reality is to worship the finger pointing at the moon.

    Our cosmological sciences are akin to a microorganism residing within a human (on Earth), actively exploring the Andromeda galaxy. Our nearly insignificant signals bouncing off of fragments of Infinity – the margins for error are "astronomical".

    "So far as the theories of mathematics are about reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality" – Albert Einstein

    Why would Nature form brains/minds to exhibit consciousness other than to experience reality; considering experiencing reality is the objective of consciousness?

    It connotes conscious intent, via consciousness (Nature).

    Consciousness/Experiences:

    Disneyland (Reality) – Patrons (Consciousness) = Nothingness = Fallacy.

    Instead, we Patrons (Nature) are the architects of our own theater called Reality.

    All life exists for the sake of experiences (regardless of good/bad).

    A thought experiment:

    On a plain sheet of paper, draw a single dot (.) in the very center.
     
    The paper represents infinite space. Everything beyond the boundaries of the sheet also represents endless (empty) space.

    The dot represents 'The Big Bang'.
    Everything humanity is aware of – exists within the dot (our currently expanding universe).

    If the observers of this singular dot, zoom far enough away – the dot will cease to exist. The dot will be extinguished through expansion/evaporation – wholly consumed by an infinite void (due to cosmic scales/distances). This would prohibit existence from 'being'. (Yet here we are).

    Furthermore this would connote The Big Bang occurred at random, within an infinite void of nothingness – suggesting 'somethingness from nothingness' – which is a fallacy.

    Without considering potential forces being exerted upon our reality/universe (from beyond the boundaries of our observations) – is an incomplete interpretation.

    Clearly the remainder of the sheet of paper cannot be an infinite void.

    The expansion of our universe is accelerating. If our cosmic expansion were occurring within a void, our reality would have concluded before it began (poof). (Yet here we are).

    If we are a facet of Infinity – we are Infinity. Along with everything being intimated.

    Instead imagine the sheet and everything beyond – riddled with infinite dots.
     
    Every universe is a particle, every particle is a universe.

    (Infinity is self-propagating).
               
    Thus Infinity is a superdeterministic preexisting condition.

    Infinity being absolute simultaneity.

    Expresses infinite probabilities – Deterministically.

    Every reality.

    Every life.

    Is an intended narrative.

    (The largest cannot exist without the smallest)

    Although our universe is finite (as evidenced by expansion).
     
    Infinity exists at a fixed maximal size, without borders/boundaries: Infinity is forever in every sense, within which infinite universes/realities are housed – each a distinct experience.

    (Infinity > Multi)

    Infinity accounts for every variation, including variations in thoughts.

    Reality is an infinite fractal consciousness; whereby all realities, every possibility, along with every imaginable and unimaginable thing, is a fragment of said consciousness – which we refer to as Nature. 

    We are Nature. 

    We are "God" (figurative); fragmented into infinite experiences. 

    An Infinity without borders or constraints; with infinite energy.

    We are all the same entity; existing for the sake of experiences. 

    Death Demystified'.

    In order to fully grasp the nature of Death; it is important that we understand Life.

    Reality is an infinite fractal consciousness; whereby all realities, every possibility, along with every imaginable and unimaginable thing, is a fragment of said consciousness – which we refer to as Nature.

    We are Nature.

    We are "God" (figurative); fragmented into infinite experiences.

    An Infinity without borders or constraints; with infinite energy…

    We are all the same entity; existing for the sake of experiences.

    Scenario:

    Individual A is hit by a car, witnesses B, C, and D are present.

    With the following occurring in simultaneity…

    Individual A(1) leaps up, unharmed – (it's a miracle), witnesses B(1), C(1), and D(1) disperse.

    Individual A(1) carries on with their life… (to be continued).

    Individual A(2) dies on impact, witnesses B(2), C(2), and D(2) recant the details.

    With both scenarios, factor the ensuing ramifications on everyone/everything involved, along with the subsequent entanglements (Butterfly Effect).  

    Through each Death endured, Individual A(1-♾) experiences (gradually increasing) fantastic shifts in their personal narrative. Eventually leading to divergent experiences (kidnapped by aliens). These fragmented experiences overlap with all local (Earth) conscious narratives.

    Once an extreme apex has been achieved, reality resets for individual A, a randomized narrative starts anew… Corporeal Birth (simplification).

    Why do some individuals miraculously survive extreme situations?

    Why are some humans living caricatures?

    The Meaning of Life:

    Imagine an endless clear glass tube (representative of Time), within which exists a diorama of life on Earth. The left most section depicting our earliest single-celled ancestors (3.5 billion years ago), leading through our present and into a future yet to be experienced (farthest right).

    Notice the tube (Time) and the diorama of life displayed within – exists Simultaneously; Past, Present, and Future all occurring concurrently. Every life form within the history of existence, an interconnected narrative: as 'Futures' cannot exist without Past events.

    Similarly to reading a book, we can only examine moments of our lives which had already transpired (Past), those pages yet read (Future) remain uncertain until experienced (no cosmic spoilers). We can only surmise possible outcomes based on prior events (pages read), although never guaranteeing accuracy of predicting Future events.

    Without the existence of Conscious experiences, there would be Nothingness. Life experiences, Experiences, simply for the sake of experiencing – which is why Life chronically craves varieties of stimuli.

    Our corporeal forms are assigned avatars, which allows Consciousness to experience material reality.

    Works of fiction (books, cinema, video games, etc.), allows individuals to experience an extended Consciousness, whereby our emotional states carry-over into fictional narratives (frustration, anger, joy, elation…). All of this, despite understanding such events are merely virtual (occurring within said individuals imaginations).

    Books are experienced in chronological order instead of a randomized order; in order to maintain a cohesive narrative flow.  Within fictional works, every character arc has their entire fate sealed; from inception to demise – luck/chance has already been decided throughout.

    This is also why every Life is experienced through a predetermined progression. Reality is a sensory experience, simply for the sake of experiencing a physical Life.

    Regarding Panpsychism: 

    Have you ever dreamed a contemporary dream, one within a major city, buzzing with people? Although the entire dream is constructed from your consciousness, not all objects within are imbued with conscious experiences – only the observable lifeforms are. The buildings, streets, signs, cars, and all inanimate things are purely decorative. Inanimate objects (minerals) provided by reality are not conscious. People attend plays to watch living artists perform, the stage and props are not the stars.

    Time: 

    A seemingly endless cadence of day/night cycles, conducted over the course of the Human epoch. Untold billions of Homo Sapiens Sapiens; generation after generation – conditioned by Nature to accept finality. The circadian rhythm, an innate mechanism, a constant reminder; consciousness an ephemeral experience, fleeting with every moment, through every exhalation. Selene a blanket of night, engulfing all into her dreamy embrace – the analog of Stella, raining rays of warmth, nourishing existence into being; beckoning the vivacity of life to stir yet again. 

    Day into night, night into day – a rhythm to remind us that none of Natures constructs are created without an expiry. Whether measured by 6.62607004 × 10-34 m2 kg / s; or by a Supereon, we are cascading energies, propagating our collective experiences – vainly attempting to elicit a sense of ‘self’ in hopes of staving off oblivion. Not realizing that the only allowable paradox to exist, is existence; a lucid dream conducted by the everlasting artistry of Gaia. 

    Time.

    the Alchemist 

    -Ø1

  11. @joelharris4399

    May 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm

    As I get older, and living on my own, I've noticed my penchant for immersing in literary / imaginary worlds in my quietude away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Away from crowds. It'd be just me and the page in front of me carrying me off to another place somewhere by virtue of the words I encounter, decipher and internalize. The need for fiction is perfectly dramatized in the film Matilda. Speaks deep human truths❣🙏

  12. @jpsimonds

    May 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm

    I thought left hemisphere vs right hemisphere stuff was kinda outdated. Didn’t we recently learn that both hemispheres are actually working together?

  13. @Sentinar

    May 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm

    So it turns out that to be happy, you need to “retrain” your interpreter/narrator.

    Вот и получается: чтобы быть счастливым, нужно "переучить" своего интерпретатора/рассказчика

  14. @mulen-x8u

    May 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm

    Muriel Rukeyser once said, "The universe is made of stories, not atoms." When I listen to stories about the mystery of the two hemispheres, I recall a joke about the absurdity of dual existence: one has two arms and two legs, especially the legs; I have two eyes, especially the right eye.

  15. @McLKeith

    May 15, 2026 at 9:08 pm

    Dr. Gazzinga, it is not a richer experience. It is like the movie "Groundhog Day", it is reruns.

    I am surprised that such great scientist didn't get it that we can control the story telling of the left brain.

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