Story

So, here goes the reaction to the story chapter.

In this chapter, Mr. Pink says that the world is no longer geared toward knowing random tidbits of information, but instead knowing, understanding, and reacting to stories. One of his first points in this chapter is that stories are becoming more valuable than sheer data. Sheer data can be accessed from anywhere and is becoming so widely known and used, that people are craving for good stories. Also, stories are easier to remember than facts. We as a people are bombarded with facts (Listerine kills 99.9% of bacteria, McDonalds has lots of greasy, unappetizing food for a buck, etc.) but what we don't become exposed to are stories. That’s why when you are told a story; it sticks to you more than a random factoid. The brain is also geared toward remembering and sympathizing with stories. Lastly, Dan Pink argues that story is becoming a valuable part of the workplace. Doctors especially need this skill to diagnose their patients, because anyone can type in their symptoms into a medical website and order their prescription online, but that website can’t show empathy and pick up on the pauses, facial expressions, and tone of voice of the sick patient. If you don't believe this, make up a sentence. Now, say the sentence, stressing the first word. Then do it again with the second word this time, and repeat this until you've repeated every word in the sentence. Example //__I__// have a cold I //__have__// a cold I have //__a__// cold I have a //__cold__// see how they each imply different meanings? That’s what Mr. Pink's getting to. A computer can't pick up those implications, only a human can.

Ok, so this chapter seemed simple enough, but what does it mean for me? I am not so good at remembering stories, and not so good at telling them ether. Because of this, I tried doing "Photo finish" For this, I typed "Nab" into Google images and this picture caught my eye:

Now for the fun part, I have to tell a story that tells the back-story and story of how this happened. Here goes.

Kim Chin, a student at Northeast High had always wanted to become an inventor when she grew up. Since elementary school, she had dreamed up thousands of new innovations, and by the time she became a sophomore, she just knew that she was going to go to IDKU (Ideas, dreams and katchy acronyms university). The only problem was, the application called for a major life achievement. Well, Kim hadn't really done anything in her short life span except for doodle new inventions while dreaming in class. To make her application stand out among others, she decided to win the biggest award for an invention in the US, the National Amazing Baccalaureate (NAB). To do this, Kim faced strong competition, but she knew she had an edge. Using her knowledge of Psychology, she created an image that would brainwash the judges quickly. She put this graphic on a simple, wireless-monitor that she invented and submitted it as her entry. When the judges laid eyes on her wireless-monitor, she quickly pulled up the brainwashing image and mesmerized the judges on the spot. She won the award and eventually came to invent "KABOOM!" in 1983 after graduating from IDKU.

Wow, that was actually a lot more fun than I expected it to be. Most of that story was pulled completely off the top of my head, but that makes it all the more interesting. I believe that story is also quickly becoming a differentiator in the marketplace because it gives more meaning to the product. I mean, if that story was on the back of this KABOOM! Cleaner, I'd be attracted to buy it. More so than that guy in their commercials who yells at me from my TV all the time.

In summary, story is also a way to differentiate products in a crowded marketplace, as well as a better way to remember things than sheer data.