We’ve said it recently: Every story has an element of mystery. In a recent interview with the Creative Penn podcast, Jonah Lehrer discusses his new book, Mystery: A Seduction, A Strategy, A Solution, in which he examines mystery’s allure in the context of recent discoveries in the fields of psychology, neuroscience, and anthropology.
“I think it’s important to remember that what the audience is most intrigued by is the unknown,” Lehrer says. “When we say something is suspenseful, that the pace is quickening, what we’re really saying is that we don’t know what’s going to happen next. I think too often we put too much information in, we’re too concerned about people getting lost, people being a little confused, people being surprised by twists that come out of nowhere, when the reality is, that’s the fun part. That’s the part that we love the most.”
