The top fighters spar hard. They're really sparring for two reasons: One is to improve their technique, but the other, which is just as important, is….

It's an empirical question whether training makes one more or less likely to get in a fight outside the gym. In some ways, I'm probably more likely t….

When you spar in boxing, the only thing that gets hurt is your brain. Everything else feels pretty good..

Don't despair for story's future or turn curmudgeonly over the rise of video games or reality TV. The way we experience story will evolve, but as sto….

Fiction seems to be more effective at changing beliefs than nonfiction, which is designed to persuade through argument and evidence. Studies show tha….

The storytelling mind is allergic to uncertainty, randomness, and coincidence. It is addicted to meaning. If the storytelling mind cannot find meanin….

We are creatures of story, and the process of changing one mind or the whole world must begin with 'Once upon a time.'.

Human minds yield helplessly to the suction of story. No matter how hard we concentrate, no matter how deep we dig in our heels, we just can't resist….

What you do in a fight gym is learn how to be brave. You're learning how to punch and kick in a proper way, of course, but above all else, a fighter ….

Until recently we’ve only been able to speculate about story's persuasive effects. But over the last several decades psychology has begun a serious s….

Story is where people go to practice the key skills of human social life..

The average daydream is about fourteen seconds long and we have about two thousand of them per day. In other words, we spend about half of our waking….

I watch fights and I often feel morally compromised by it. I feel like I'm morally culpable for what's occurring because I'm the spectator and ultima….

We are critical and skeptical. But when we are absorbed in a story, we drop our intellectual guard..

Getting punched in the face with a padded glove doesn't really hurt your face. It doesn't hurt your skull. The only thing it hurts is your brain. You….

I think the proper attitude toward fighting sports is one of ambivalence. You can be drawn to them, but you should also be repelled by them..

We are a species addicted to a stories..

Humans simply aren’t moved to action by 'data dumps,' dense PowerPoint slides, or spreadsheets packed with figures. People are moved by emotion. The ….

If you want to burrow a message into a human mind. Work it into a story.

I think what bothers us about fighting sports isn't the damage to the athlete but the fact that you win by doing more harm to your opponent than he d….

A boxing contest is a brain-damage contest. Who can give out more brain damage and who can absorb more of it?.