The need for narratives (or stories)

Yes, in a sane world, the fundamentals would be more important than the sound bite. In a more sustainable world, this would be the case. Yet, in the world as it exists today and actually operates, this isn't so clearly or confidently answered.

Media, we know, emphasize 'the narrative'. "The Narrative", in turn, tends to demand reduction to sound bites -- and, also, tends to play out the story to its conclusion. In that sense, the 'narratives' preferred by media have a kind of 'scoop' quality to them -- the hope that those crafting the narrative have 'scooped' the future by telling us what the future will bring.

Unfortunately, narratives are not that helpful when trying to decide on what to do or how to formulate a plan. Why? Because you never know the motivation behind the narrative writer nor whether they have done the proper research to represent what really happened accurately. CBK