'What Keeps Us Riveted'

[a_contemplative_life]

I sometimes listen to a podcast of a radio program, On Point with Tom Ashbrook. Recently he had a program about a book, "Riveted" by author Jim Davies.

What makes performance “riveting.” Why we cry at movies, laugh at jokes, are obsessed with celebrities and sports and more. Looking around, everything tries to grab our attention. Headlines. Magazine covers. Movie trailers. But what is it that draws us in? What compels us to pick up a book? Listen to a particular song? Believe a particular religion? Try a new exotic food? Jim Davies, a cognitive scientist, has looked deeply into this question of human intrigue. He finds that the evolution of our brain has a lot to do with it. Subconscious forces at work help decide what interests us. This hour, On Point: understanding what fascinates us, what compels us, what’s “riveting.”

A couple of the things that were mentioned made me think of LTROI. First, people are attracted to what they perceive as beautiful, and second, to what they find intriguing or mysterious. To me, that more or less encapsulates the attraction to LTROI that many of us feel. So I thought some of you might be interested in this program.

Podcast/program link: http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/08/11/what ... us-riveted

[broken1]

What keeps me riveted is the not so simple fact that underneath it all, these three stories are a mirror of the human condition. These stories show exactly what it means and feels like to be alive, to exist, to suffer, to lose, to use, to be used, to hope, to love, and to be loved. I dare to say that we are all Eli, we are all Oskar, we are all Abby, we are all Owen, Thomas, Hakan, Lacke, etc; and while these three stories, on the surface tell a fantastical tale, they are really showing you...."you".

The stories are in and of themselves great, there is no denying that. But there is something more to it than that alone; these three mirrors are a reflection of us, as human beings.

I can't possibly see how someone drawn to this subject could not grasp this concept. Or is it something as simple as, "Well, I never thought about it that way"?.

IDK

Regards,

SS