The one in London, baby!
Experiencing the news of the last few weeks might feel like watching a bloopers reel. After a while, one no longer knows what was coincidental, erroneous, or quite intentional. What was done to press on boundaries, test response to novelty or to simply distract the other side. Are we all part of a massive social experiment? Is it all aimed at us simply stopping to care?
THINK. I am re-discovering the power of storytelling. For reasons too elaborate to explain here, my family and I spent most of the week in London. Time off. Pure leisure. Ingesting the city. Assorted range of experiences.
Inspired by her history teacher, my daughter and I went to visit the Imperial War Museum. As much as it has been a humbling lesson on the crushing power of warfare, it also made us reflect on fragility of narratives. There must have been opposing truths that led to various escalations. There was a range of underlying circumstances that amplified the differences rather than sought reconciliation. Finally, the broad spectrum of consequences may have led to even bigger grudge, bitterness and eventually, retribution. Are humans predetermined to fight for power?
Reviewing 8 centuries of English history through the lenses of the Tower of London has been equally interesting experience, but from a completely different angle. Putting aside the grim caravan of beheadings and ruthless political plays, the way to integrate these stories was through a picturesque and witty narrative by one of the Yeoman Wardens. A fine example that it is not only the story itself, but how it is told, that creates a lasting impression.
Finally, we got even more immersed in the thrill of storytelling by means of an escape room experience. Uniquely London-esque, for 90 minutes we have become agents of the Network and worked alongside Sherlock Holmes and his brother, facing their nemesis, James Moriarty. Through making decisions to discover how the story is unfolding, or facing consequences of choices under time pressure, the narrative was felt and lived. Expressed in the bodily experience, not only intellectually. I must admit my daughter, with her acting passions, was far quicker to embrace it and get into character. We are still discussing the plot and ended up getting a riddle book at 221b Baker Street.
What a blessing to see through the WHAT, notice the HOW and experience ME being part of the story!
FEEL. Nearly all of us yearn connections. We project our thoughts and feelings onto others, seeking similarities, validation, and graceful acceptance. Sometimes, we end up relating to fictional characters, imaginary friends, and superheroes.
We have watched 'Friends' on multiple stages of our lives, including more recently with our children (no judging or cancelling, please!). With all its imperfections, the series exudes warmth, energy, and humour. Set in 1990s and early 2000s, it also described the reality my wife and I witnessed coming of age and getting into adulthood (we are a few years behind the characters). In so many ways, this is a context that our children cannot relate to. Yet, there are so many other universal pivots of the story, making it truly easy to connect.
Visiting 'The Friends Experience' has been utterly and positively nostalgic. I think its greatest power lies in recreating physical space exactly alike a film set, where we can all feel like heroes of our own episode, even for a brief moment. It transcends the line between fiction and our everyday experience, creating a path into the familiar world of fantasy. It feels safe, as we all know how it ends, and that it ends well.
And the world would be so empty without the Holiday Armadillo!
DO. Experiencing novelty does not need to be dramatic. Sometimes all it takes is to take a double-decker bus in the rain, travel to unknown part of the city, just to find a hidden gem of a trading card game shop, filled with alike geeks. It is finding a lunch place serving some hot soup with hundreds of fictional characters painted all over the walls. Browse through endless shelves with graphic novels I had no idea existed. Sitting in the office lobby to read the book and get warmer.
Since this is the part of the journal I am putting on my action-figure costume, I am finally ready to commit to a Day of Discovery. Simple rule - spend one day in a month doing something... very different.
The above was all based on my individual perception of what novelty does to me. But I did not want to preach and generalize outside of a context of some peer-reviewed academic research. I also did promise myself to explore use cases for the use of large language models so... I hired a research assistant.
If you want to read through a compelling, AI-generated recap, follow my Instagram profile. Here is a few things I remembered: novel experiences, served periodically (and even in small doses), help build enhanced stress management, problem solving skills and cognitive functions. When experienced with other people, it forges relationships through better connectedness and increased feeling of understanding.
I truly needed that week to be exactly as it was.
