“Humans are a story telling species. Throughout history we have told stories to each other and ourselves as one of the ways to understand the world around us. Every culture has its creation myth for how the universe came to be, but the stories do not stop at the big picture view; other stories discuss every aspect of the world around us. We humans are chatterboxes and we just can't resist telling a story about just about everything.However compelling and entertaining these stories may be, they fall short of being explanations because in the end all they are is stories. For every story you can tell a different variation, or a different ending, without giving reason to choose between them. If you are skeptical or try to test the veracity of these stories you'll typically find most such stories wanting. One approach to this is forbid skeptical inquiry, branding it as heresy. This meme is so compelling that it was independently developed by cultures around the globes; it is the origin of religion—a set of stories about the world that must be accepted on faith, and never questioned.”

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About Nathan Myhrvold

American inventor, scientist and businessman

Nathan Paul Myhrvold is an American inventor, scientist, and businessman. He is known for serving as chief technology officer at Microsoft, and for co-founding Intellectual Ventures and TerraPower. He is also the principal author of Modernist Cuisine and its follow-up books. His work spans technology, business, and food science, reflecting a career that moves between research, innovation, and writing.

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