Comment by soperj

11 hours ago

Except oral histories seemed to have been very important to people and passing them down accurately has been noted throughout history

No TV, no books. Lightly populated rural communities, without a lot of visitors.

People loved stories because they were bored.

  • It's not boredom. Humans have always told stories and we still tell them today. How often does the 500 mile email come up on HN, or The Story of Mel? What about the SR-71 speed check? It's an innate human characteristic to love stories and most social media is lightly disguised storytelling.

    • It's not boredom.

      Says someone who didn't listen to an old timers 70th rendition of the same old story.

      There are stories, and then there are stories. I grew up pre-Internet with limited books, no way to get more, 3 fuzzy TV channels on a good day, and nothing else.

      People today don't even know what boredom is. You don't know what boredom is, until you've watched the same episode of The Andy Griffith Show 15 times, and still think it is entertaining.

      Now go to pre-literate times. No TV. Yes, stories are fun.

      But hearing the same story over and over 1000 times is only fun if you're so bored, any external stimulus is a blessing.

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