Nexus

Imagine a time tens of thousands of years ago when humans lived in small bands, each intimately connected by personal bonds of kinship and trust. Cooperation was limited to those they knew face to face. But then something extraordinary happened: humans began to tell stories — stories that transcended individual experience and connected people who had never met. Stories became the invisible threads weaving together vast networks of strangers into tribes, nations, and religions. Unlike the bonds of family or friendship, stories create what we call intersubjective realities — things that exist only because many people believe in them together. These include gods, laws, money, and countries. For example, the idea of a nation is not a tangible object but a shared story that millions accept as real. This ability to imagine and believe in shared fictions gave Homo sapiens an unprecedented advantage, enabling cooperation on a scale unmatched by any other species.

Consider the powerful example of astrology, which, despite lacking scientific evidence, remains a multibillion-dollar industry worldwide. Millions consult their star signs before making important life decisions, showing how stories, even when untrue, can shape human behavior and social bonds profoundly. Astrology connects people emotionally, creating communities and shared identities through belief in the stars’ influence.

Stories also stretch the limits of our biological kinship. Ancient rituals like the Jewish Passover invite participants to remember events they never witnessed, forging a collective memory that binds communities across time and space. This phenomenon illustrates that stories do not merely relay facts but create new realities that unite people emotionally and socially.

Yet stories are double-edged. While they enable cooperation and social order, they also allow for mass delusions and dangerous myths that can mobilize societies toward destructive ends. The power of stories lies not in their truthfulness but in their ability to connect and inspire people to act together.

As we reflect on the role of storytelling, we see that human history is not just a march toward truth but an intricate dance balancing fiction and fact to maintain social cohesion. This understanding sets the stage for exploring how written documents and bureaucracy further transformed human information networks in the next chapter.

Let us now turn to the invention of documents, the next great leap in human information technology, which reshaped how societies organize, govern, and exert power.