This Boy’s Life
Some proof that good fiction has its roots in science and research:
“When we are green, still half-created, we believe that our dreams are rights, that the world is disposed to act in our best interests, and that falling and dying are for quitters. We live on the innocent and monstrous assurance that we alone, of all the people ever born, have a special arrangement whereby we will be allowed to stay green forever”
Tobias Wolff
“Psychologist David Elkind introduced two theories in a 1967 paper on adolescents and egocentrism. He suggested that adolescents exist in an empathetically compromised state of egocentrism and that typical teens live their lives as thought they were on a grand stage in front of an attentive audience. Because every action is so important to them, these teens assume that their actions are of equal interest and importance to those around them, that they are performing before a constant imaginary audience. The personal fable theory describes a belief on the part of the adolescent that he or she is unique and special and that when it comes to pursuing his or her destiny, the conventional rules don’t apply. In theory, most teens grow of these dramatic, egocentric stages, as they successfully negotiate a separation from their parents and emerge with unique identities as mature adults.
The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America
Dr. Drew Pinsky
At first glance, Personal Fable Theory sounds a lot like the Narrative Fallacy. Both the This Boy’s Life and The Mirror Effect are very good. Connections are everywhere.
What exactly do you mean by science and research?
Because I don’t think Wolff relied on science or research as the basis for his understanding of adolescence.
Thanks, great post.
Maybe instead of science and research, experience and awareness.
Ok, think about it this way. Would that passage be better if it was contradicted by scientific discoveries?
Whether he knew it when he was writing it or not is irrelevant.
I don’t think it would be worse. I don’t see that scientific accuracy has much to do with how good a passage of fiction is.
Well technically this book is a memoir so it’s a little different.
But I’ll keep what you said in mind in my search for popular songs that talk about emotions that don’t exist and comedy filled with incorrect observations.
so in order not to fall under the personal fable theory I must remember that life is not a catalogue where my dreams will come true if I order them to be, and that hard work is required? is that right? I actually do think my life is unique and special, perhaps not out of the ordinary, but certainly of high value and i know that hard work precedes accomplishment.
Adam, if there’s anything my time in the military taught me it’s that you in fact are replaceable. Easily, in fact. So am I and everyone else for the most part. The only thing that isn’t replaceable is time spent doing nothing and pontificating as to whether or not work is valuable. It is, and you clearly know that. To quote my mentors, “shut the fuck up and get back to work.”
Thanks for the post, Ryan.
There are probably a lot of people who talk and write about emotions they have never experienced, but I don’t think that has much to do with their ignorance of science.
It seems like you have something important to say about being open and aware of our own authentic experience, but I don’t think that has much to do with science.
This is a great post. I wonder if the transition from adolescent to adult takes longer now than in the late 60’s when Elkind wrote his paper. It seems for many people today, it doesn’t happen at all. I also see the passage says most teens grow into mature adults ‘in theory.’
Would fiction without any hint of truth in it simply be nonsense or just come off as stupid?
When you come across these sorts of biases and self-lies, how do you go about fixing them? Any good advice, or a system that works for you?
“When you come across these sorts of biases and self-lies, how do you go about fixing them? Any good advice, or a system that works for you?”
Shut the fuck up and get back to work.
I’m not trying to be cute. That’s really the answer.
Good fiction is usually agreeable to at least some scientific rationale, but not always aligned with excessive scientific materialism and empiricism (or the scientific meta-narrative). Binary modes of thinking are the anti-thesis of most literature’s end game.