Learning is selective. As we experience life we naturally level, sharpen, and assimilate what we perceive into a story: we level out what does not make sense to our existing view; we sharpen up what makes more sense; and we assimilate it into a condensed (and limited) perception of the truth.  And this becomes our story. It also relates closely to our habits (e.g. “it’s my story and I’m sticking to it!”). Our stories determine our values, and with them our prejudices. Changing our story is difficult.

Nevertheless, as our environment changes we sometimes have to change our story. Otherwise, we can become trapped inside a paradox when our story no longer fits the world we live in. So, as we level, sharpen, and assimilate new things in different ways, we change our story, and shift our paradigm — but this requires new habits, and if these habits are not acceptable to others in our current environment, it can make things very difficult for us.

Sys-Tao is about creating a more lifelike environment that encourages collaborative storytelling. Tyler Cowen is a storyteller. His 16-minute video (below) explains the importance of stories, and also warns us that they are just that – stories! Harrison Owen is another great storyteller – find more about him on the Sys-Tao Blog here.