Believing In Things That Aren’t True

There’s a theory floating around about why humans can form such large and complex social groups when other primates cannot.

Humans and Apes have quite a bit of overlap of how we organize ourselves socially - so too it appears that way for Neanderthals and other groups of prehistoric man. We mentally keep track of relationships and our level in the social hierarchy. But we can only keep track of so many of these relationships before it becomes unwieldy. After a few hundred people, we reach the glass ceiling of how big our group can be.

Where humans are different - so goes the theory - is we tell stories. We can pass a narrative across much larger groups and store those stories in our memories. Superstitions, Mythologies, Religions, Laws, all of these are some version of a story we tell each other that gives direction for how we are supposed to act within the larger group.

Maybe there never was a ‘Boy who cried wolf’ but the message underpinning it can be spread to thousands, or millions of people. Stories that spread far enough can be the glue that holds together a civilization. But it’s important to remember that ‘The Map Is Not The Territory’. Stories include some details and not others - it’s a version of the truth, not the truth. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a lie, it just means it’s not 100% “The Truth.”

Believe In Things That Aren’t True

Put another way, we can believe in things that aren’t true in a tangible sense. Myths, witches, and superstitions aren’t “true” but they served a purpose. So too do law's, digital currencies, countries and constitutions - these things are only real insofar as we all agree they’re real.

These things are all stories. Ones that both the teller and the listener believe, and those shared beliefs then guide our actions.

If I believe that I shouldn’t go down to the swamp because there is a witch that will curse me, maybe I’ve just avoided getting bitten by a malaria mosquito. If I believe it is against the law to take property that doesn’t belong to me, perhaps my property rights will be respected (and enforced) as well.

Marketing Is A Story.

Part of what marketing is attempting to do is craft a story in the minds of consumers. To create an image of how a product or service came to be, what it stands for, and what it says about you for consuming it.

It’s actually very unusual to find a McDonalds ad that says “Hamburgers For Sale”. Everyone knows what they sell. They spend their advertising dollars trying to create a story about McDonalds. How they update their image, how they support their communities, how they create jobs and a safe place to get a consistent experience.

The story is repeated over and over until it embeds itself into the minds of the listener. Not unlike the way myths were told and retold around a campfire, or sermons are retold weekly in a Church.

The story is not “the truth” per se, it’s an orientation point. It’s something for us to rally around and grow comfortable with. It’s a narrative that teaches a lesson. For marketing, that story is teaching the audience why they should (or should not) purchase their product.