The Storytelling Animal

Gottschall begins with a discussion of the infinite monkey theorem—an idea from probability theory suggesting that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter for an infinite amount of time could eventually type any text, such as Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Gottschall recounts a real-world test of this theory conducted in 2003 by researchers at Plymouth University in England. Instead of an infinite number of monkeys, they used six Sulawesi crested macaques and an old computer. The monkeys’ interaction with the computer was less than productive: they bashed the keyboard, soiled it, and produced pages filled primarily with the letter s, leading to no meaningful composition whatsoever. This experiment, Gottschall concludes, underscores that the infinite monkey theorem, while interesting as a theoretical exercise, fails in practical application.

Following this anecdote, Gottschall pivots to a broader reflection on storytelling. He introduces the term Homo fictus, or “fiction man,” proposing that humans are inherently driven to create and live within stories. This narrative drive is so powerful and pervasive that Gottschall likens human existence to living in “Neverland”—an imaginative realm where stories shape perceptions of the world and oneself. He suggests that human minds continuously craft stories, not only when we are awake but also as we dream.