Once upon a time, there was a single cell created from the union of two others. Through the machinations of nature, it grew in number, then in size, and then in complexity. And, like a tiny creek ever expanding outwards into a river, the spark of consciousness grew as well.

Existence. There became a young child who pondered if, amongst billions of others before, consciousness could wander from body to body - what was the anchor that allowed only one experience of the world? Logically, if existence appeared from physical processes, then such a question was borne of an error of hierarchy - the physical gives rise to consciousness, not that consciousness extends down towards the physical.

But the real question being asked was…what if things were different? What if the world was different?

The power of storytelling and the ability to share perspective - I believe these are related to that simple desire. The joy of reading books, watching movies, playing games, or just plain old conversation, are amongst countless kinds of exchanges between humans for the sake of the transfer of information. Experiencing something first-hand expands one’s own perspective - experiencing through the lens of another adds a piece of a new one.

In the young child, it quickly became obvious which mode of learning would come to dominate - the ability to experience through others, to observe, and to be wary of one’s own inner world.