The Real World is a Multi-Flow

Years before the iPad and the smartphone, Captain Kirk and Spock used them as tools to communicate and search for information. All they needed to say was: “Computer.” Today, we say: “Siri.” Stories of the past have shaped the culture of today.

 
Popular fiction can ignite discussions and influence social norms. A blog on Mindshift sparked my interest in watching a Ted-Ed video created by Jessica Wise: How Fiction Can Influence Real World Events. She explains how stories have the unique ability to change a person’s point of view, and for some reason, we are able to walk miles with in their shoes.

Stories also have the ability to spark social change and address the injustice of the oppressed.

 
Whether you are Katniss Everdeen or Tom Sawyer, you are pulled into the series of events of survival, social issues, and the multiple perspectives of other characters as if you were really there. What people consider current truths of our society may not come from nonfiction literature at all, but from fictional works that challenge the status quo and teaches lessons that can become conventional knowledge.

 
So the next time you pick up a new book at the bookstore (or download it onto your Kindle), don’t be surprised if what you read is an actual reflection of current thoughts and can shape the culture of future social norms. What novels have you read in the past that has now become deja vu?