The magical science of storytelling | David JP Phillips | TEDxStockholm

Translator: Florencia Bracamonte Reviewer: Tanya Cushman In 2009, a man, a journalist by the name Rob Walker, wanted to find out this: Is storytelling really the most powerful tool of all? And in order to do this, he went on his computer, and he bought 200 objects from eBay. And the average price of the objects was about one dollar.

He then called 200 authors, and he asked them, "Hey, would you like to be part of the 'significant object study'? Which means that I would like you to write a story to one of the objects." And 200 authors said yes. So there he had 200 objects, he had 200 stories, and I assume that it was with nail-biting anticipation

that he went on eBay again with all the 200 objects. Would there be a difference? Would there be a change? Do you think there was a change? One of the objects was this, this beautiful horse's head. There we go. The beautiful horse's head. Now, this beautiful horse's head was bought for 99¢ and was sold, when the story was added, for $62.95.

(Laughter) That is a slight increase of 6395%. So, was this a one-off situation? Not really, because he bought the 200 objects for a total of $129, selling them for $8000. Now, that's insane. But you know what's even more intellectually challenging to understand? How can you and I go to the movies and pay good money to watch movies like James Bond,

[that] are absolutely unrealistic? And we sit there; we enjoy the movie. And some of us, we really enjoy the movie. And we leave the theater, going like, "God, what a man! I would like to be more like him. I'd like to walk like him. I'd like to talk like him. I like Bond.

(Laughter) I wonder how I could be more like Bond." And then this weird revelation hits you like from nowhere, and you come up with a brilliant idea to walk to a watchmaker shop. And wow! It just happens to be an Omega watch in that shop that resembles the one that Bond was wearing in the movie.