Octopus Storytelling
By Eleanor Magnuson
Recently I’ve been spending a lot of time reading and thinking about octopuses (yes, the correct plural of “octopus” is “octopuses,” Google it if you don’t believe me!).
I’ve been fascinated by these extraordinary creatures for a long time, but there’s one aspect of their neurological design that I’ve always found to be particularly interesting. Octopuses essentially have nine separate brains—one for each tentacle—and a central brain that guides the other eight. The interesting thing about the central brain is that its main purpose is to delegate independence to the other brains. This is to say: when an octopus is searching for food, each of its tentacles can behave like a fully discrete organism. But if the animal is in danger, the central brain can synchronize the brain waves of all the other brains so that the octopus can focus all its brain power on escaping.
When I first learned this, I was struck by an idea that hasn’t left me since. An octopus is not arranged like a person. An octopus is arranged like a community.
So what does this have to do with storytelling? Well, an octopus isn’t the only thing capable of synchronizing multiple minds.
Researchers at Princeton University performed a study in 2010, wherein they analyzed the brain waves of a person telling a story and the brain waves of a group of people listening and discovered an “extensive overlap” in many key areas. This discovery concluded that when we tell a story, we aren’t just entertaining an audience. There is something that happens neurologically to everyone involved, something measurable and quantifiable. This is the science of storytelling, the mathematics of community.
When an octopus is in danger, its central brain synchronizes the brain waves of the other eight, because nature has long known that the collective is stronger than the individual. When our communities face uncertainty in areas like disease, political unrest, or natural disasters, we take action to a very similar end.
We tell each other stories.
Want to get creative? Learn storytelling online or in person with Story Jam’s classes, workshops, and corporate trainings! All offerings can be found at storyjamstudio.com. Story Jam also offers a free monthly open mic called The Cocoon where you can share your stories in an affirming online space. In addition to our classes, Story Jam has been spotlighting true, personal stories from a fantastic lineup of diverse performers since 2014. Story Jam hosts monthly shows at Artifact Events in Chicago and Madame Zuzu's in Highland Park, IL. Learn more at storyjamshow.com!
Sources:
Scientific American, “The Mind of an Octopus”
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-mind-of-an-octopus/
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), “Speaker-Listener Neural Coupling Underlies Successful Communication”
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1008662107
NPR, “How Stories Connect and Persuade Us: Unleashing the Brain Power of Narrative”