This document discusses the evolution of human travel and connectivity over time. It begins with early humans traveling on foot to share stories, then expanding to riding animals and using wheels to travel farther and faster. The development of technologies like the internal combustion engine, airplanes, and the internet have dramatically increased the speed and scope of human travel and connectivity. These innovations allow for near-instant travel across vast distances both physically and virtually. Storytelling has been a way for humans to travel mentally throughout history, and new technologies may enhance our ability to share stories globally.

1. The Chain Reaction of Human Travel and Connectivity: a conversation-starter We long for connectivity. In the beginning………the traveling story teller would visit..…. or we walked to get to a different place, meet up with someone else, share stories………..

2. ……………and those who could afford to, used wheels and harnessed energy to get around………………

3. ……………… then, we created forward movement using our legs: not to walk but to ride, travel faster …………….

4. ………..and drive-chain technology made this easier.

5. The advent of the internal combustion engine led to our movement being powered by a new energy, the motorised bike……

6. …….and of course, the car. Motorised boats. Trains.

7. Faster travel and even more connectivity came with air travel…………

8. ………and jet propulsion, with no piston engine nor propeller, ushered in safe, fast, long distance travel for many….. Now, every year, 700 million or more of us fly to another country, this new, mobile community of travellers being smaller only than China and India!

9. And then came the relatively recent, life-changing, world-shrinking technologies that we have become used to, take for granted -the internet, personal computing, television, cell phones, a convergence of information and communication technologies.

10. They allow us to ‘travel’ immediately to where news is breaking and events are unfolding. We can become part of what is happening in any part of the world, and connect with anyone, anywhere…………allow new ideas and emotions into our minds

11. And so we travel as always in our own fallible minds, backwards in search of memories to re-live, examine, pine for. We reflect on what could have been different, on complexities and mysteries. We travel ahead as we imagine things yet to be, anxiously and with foreboding, or perhaps in eager anticipation. Perhaps at last we are coming out of the information age and moving deeper into a story age. Or they are connected? Does high tech give birth to high touch? “Humans have been storytelling for 100,000 years around the campfire. The media is now our campfire”. Gloria Steinem

13. The dolphin brain, or paleo-mammalian – more sophisticated seat of emotions, memory, learning, affiliations, fun and fair play, care-giving

14. The story brain, the neo-mammalian – the seat of insight, meaning, music, conscience, culture, imagination, deeper awareness, reflection, future planning, concepts, story. “Every brain has a story” - Jill Bolte Taylor,

15. Listening to a story touches all of our senses and triggers imaginary experiences as we travel in our minds with the teller, gain clarity, see meaning. We connect with ancient traditions, legends, archetypes, myths and symbols. We connect to our larger selves and to universal truths, transcend generations. Our imagination allows us to become participants in the narrative. We can step out of our own shoes……………..

16. Which perhaps takes us back to the beginning: There are mind and body links. Movement boosts cognition. Physical movement like walking and mental movement like problem-solving, memory, attention, perception, learning or story, connect in the same part of the brain.

17. Were these travel and connecting innovations incremental or disruptive? Does proximity increase connectivity? At which points on our travels do the inner and outer connect – through memories, experiences, exposures……… Is story our most basic technology? (”Sometimes we must travel far to discover what is near” – Uri Sholevitz)