Crazy Futures I an exploration on the necessity of pushing your thinking past...Wendy Schultz
Don't merely consider what you think is plausible - recognise that you may not have the whole story on emerging changes, and that what's emerging may shatter the bounds of what's currently 'plausible'. Get creative, test assumptions, test values and worldviews.
Crazy Futures I an exploration on the necessity of pushing your thinking past...Wendy Schultz
Don't merely consider what you think is plausible - recognise that you may not have the whole story on emerging changes, and that what's emerging may shatter the bounds of what's currently 'plausible'. Get creative, test assumptions, test values and worldviews.
The Kite Runner Essay | English - Year 11 VCE | Thinkswap. THE KITE RUNNER - A-Level English - Marked by Teachers.com. The Kite Runner Essay | Fiction & Literature. Fascinating Redemption In The Kite Runner Essay ~ Thatsnotus. The Kite Runner a novel full of betrayals - Free Essay Example .... The Kite Runner - A Grade Example Essay - English Literature Ella 1 .... Chapter 7 kite runner essay prompts. Journeys Essay - The Kite Runner + 2 related texts | English (Advanced .... The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Essay Example | Topics and Well .... The Kite Runner Essay – Telegraph. Kite Runner Essay | Essay on Kite Runner for Students and Children in .... ESSAY – The Kite Runner One of The Kite Runner's major themes is. Analysis of The Kite Runner | English Essay - Studienett.no. Definition essay: The kite runner essay. Essay "The Kite Runner" - grade 7 - The Kite Runner The book reports .... Guilt and perseverance as the motivation in The Kite Runner: [Essay .... The kite runner | The kite runner, Easy essay, Literary essay. ≫ The kite runner Free Essay Sample on Samploon.com. The Kite Runner - Essay Assignment Sheet. The Kite Runner Theme Essay Final Score. Kite Runner Essay | English - Year 12 SACE | Thinkswap. Kite Runner Essay topics. Higher English sample critical essay on the novel ‘The Kite Runner’ by .... Essay Summary of The Kite Runner - PHDessay.com. The Kite Runner Final - Free Essay Example | PapersOwl.com. Kite runner literary analysis essay on redemption. 008 Essay Example The Kite Runner Laura Collins Hunger Games Sacrifice .... The Kite Runner - CCT Essay Assignment. «The Kite Runner» Essay: The Concept of Circularity : EssaySeek.com. Kite runner essay guilt by association. Kite Runner Essay Prompts and Guidelines The Kite Runner Essay The Kite Runner Essay
Crazy Futures I an exploration on the necessity of pushing your thinking pas...Wendy Schultz
Don't merely consider what you think is plausible - recognise that you may not have the whole story on emerging changes, and that what's emerging may shatter the bounds of what's currently 'plausible'. Get creative, test assumptions, test values and worldviews.
A Case of Mistaken Identity - [PDF Document]. A Case of Mistaken Identity | Witness | Justice. Narrative essay on mistaken identity... Literary Terms and Definitions .... Mark twain mistaken identity essay papers. Mistake essay - MISTAKE ESSAY PNK It is difficult to state clearly .... Mistaken Identity - Assignment Point. Essay on Mistake as to identity - Sayed -Ul-Haque 1 of 2 British School .... What Is Identity Theft? Free Essay Example. (Mistaken identity) Short Essay in Simple English. Mistaken Identity - Mistaken Identity Poem by David Lewis Paget. Mistaken Identity - Essays - Peter Cain Digital Catalogue Raisonné. Mistaken identities and misunderstanding within Twelfth Night Essay .... Creative writing-Mistaken Identity. For a while everything seemed .... (PDF) Mistaken Identity and Its Consequences.
FREE 8+ Sample Literature Review Templates in PDF | MS Word. See Our Good Literature Review Sample Writing. http://www.litreviewwritingservices.com/our-best-lit-review-sample .... Tips for Writing an Effective Research Paper.
FREE 8+ Sample Literature Review Templates in PDF | MS Word. See Our Good Literature Review Sample Writing. http://www.litreviewwritingservices.com/our-best-lit-review-sample .... Tips for Writing an Effective Research Paper.
Embarrassing Moment Essay Example - PHDessay.com. We All Have Experienced An Embarrassing Moment In Our Life Essay .... The most embarrassing moment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written .... Embarrassing Moment Essay.docx - Gisselle Cedillo October 23 2019 .... ⇉Most Embarrassing Situation in My Life Sample Essay Example | GraduateWay. My Most Embarrassing Moment Essay – Telegraph. My Most Embarrassing Moment Essay Example With Writing Tips. Definition essay: An embarrassing moment essay. Embarrassing Moment English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written .... My most embarrassing moment essay composition: Understanding such ....
ENG125 Introduction to Literature List of Literary T.docxYASHU40
ENG125: Introduction to Literature
List of Literary Techniques
Technique Description
Allusion
A reference to a recognized literary work, person, historic
event, artistic achievement, etc. that enhances the
meaning of a detail in a literary work.
Climax
The crisis or high point of tension that becomes the story’s
turning point—the point at which the outcome of the
conflict is determined.
Conflict The struggle that shapes the plot in a story.
Dramatic irony
When the reader or audience knows more about the
action than the character involved.
Epiphany
A profound and sudden personal discovery.
Exposition
Setting and essential background information presented at
the beginning of a story or play.
Falling action
A reduction in intensity following the climax in a story or
play, allowing the various complications to be worked out.
Fate
An outside source that determines human events.
Figurative language
Language used in a non-literal way to convey images and
ideas.
Figures of speech
The main tools of figurative language; include similes and
metaphors..
First-person point of view
Occurs when the narrator is a character in the story and
tells the story from his or her perspective.
Flashback
The description of an event that occurred prior to the
action in the story.
Foreshadowing
A technique a writer uses to hint or suggest what the
outcome of an important conflict or situation in a narrative
ENG125: Introduction to Literature
will be.
Imagery
A distinct representation of something that can be
experienced and understood through the senses (sight,
hearing, touch, smell, and taste), or the representation of
an idea.
Irony
A contradiction in words or actions. There are three types
of irony: verbal, situational, and dramatic.
Limited omniscient point of
view
Occurs when a narrator has access to the thoughts and
feelings of only one character in a story.
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made
between one object and another that is different from it.
Objective point of view
A detached point of view, evident when an external
narrator does not enter into the mind of any character in a
story but takes an objective stance, often to create a
dramatic effect.
Omniscient point of view
An all-knowing point of view, evident when an external
narrator has access to the thoughts and feelings of all the
characters in a story.
Persona
Literally, in Latin, “a mask.”
Plot
A connecting element in fiction; a sequence of interrelated,
conflicting actions and events that typically build to a
climax and bring about a resolution
Point of view
The perspective of the narrator who will present the action
to the reader.
Resolution The outcome of the action in a story or play.
Rising action
Conflicts and circumstances that build to a high point of
tension in a story or pl ...
Dignity Essay. . Dignity Essay by Nancy ShannonShannon Bennett
Beautiful Dignity Of Labour Essay English ~ Thatsnotus. 016 Essay Example Dignity Of Labour English 10023 Thumb ~ Thatsnotus. Dignity Essay by Nancy Shannon. Human Dignity 09 | PDF | Dignity | Catholic Social Teaching.
The Kite Runner Essay | English - Year 11 VCE | Thinkswap. THE KITE RUNNER - A-Level English - Marked by Teachers.com. The Kite Runner Essay | Fiction & Literature. Fascinating Redemption In The Kite Runner Essay ~ Thatsnotus. The Kite Runner a novel full of betrayals - Free Essay Example .... The Kite Runner - A Grade Example Essay - English Literature Ella 1 .... Chapter 7 kite runner essay prompts. Journeys Essay - The Kite Runner + 2 related texts | English (Advanced .... The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Essay Example | Topics and Well .... The Kite Runner Essay – Telegraph. Kite Runner Essay | Essay on Kite Runner for Students and Children in .... ESSAY – The Kite Runner One of The Kite Runner's major themes is. Analysis of The Kite Runner | English Essay - Studienett.no. Definition essay: The kite runner essay. Essay "The Kite Runner" - grade 7 - The Kite Runner The book reports .... Guilt and perseverance as the motivation in The Kite Runner: [Essay .... The kite runner | The kite runner, Easy essay, Literary essay. ≫ The kite runner Free Essay Sample on Samploon.com. The Kite Runner - Essay Assignment Sheet. The Kite Runner Theme Essay Final Score. Kite Runner Essay | English - Year 12 SACE | Thinkswap. Kite Runner Essay topics. Higher English sample critical essay on the novel ‘The Kite Runner’ by .... Essay Summary of The Kite Runner - PHDessay.com. The Kite Runner Final - Free Essay Example | PapersOwl.com. Kite runner literary analysis essay on redemption. 008 Essay Example The Kite Runner Laura Collins Hunger Games Sacrifice .... The Kite Runner - CCT Essay Assignment. «The Kite Runner» Essay: The Concept of Circularity : EssaySeek.com. Kite runner essay guilt by association. Kite Runner Essay Prompts and Guidelines The Kite Runner Essay The Kite Runner Essay
Crazy Futures I an exploration on the necessity of pushing your thinking pas...Wendy Schultz
Don't merely consider what you think is plausible - recognise that you may not have the whole story on emerging changes, and that what's emerging may shatter the bounds of what's currently 'plausible'. Get creative, test assumptions, test values and worldviews.
A Case of Mistaken Identity - [PDF Document]. A Case of Mistaken Identity | Witness | Justice. Narrative essay on mistaken identity... Literary Terms and Definitions .... Mark twain mistaken identity essay papers. Mistake essay - MISTAKE ESSAY PNK It is difficult to state clearly .... Mistaken Identity - Assignment Point. Essay on Mistake as to identity - Sayed -Ul-Haque 1 of 2 British School .... What Is Identity Theft? Free Essay Example. (Mistaken identity) Short Essay in Simple English. Mistaken Identity - Mistaken Identity Poem by David Lewis Paget. Mistaken Identity - Essays - Peter Cain Digital Catalogue Raisonné. Mistaken identities and misunderstanding within Twelfth Night Essay .... Creative writing-Mistaken Identity. For a while everything seemed .... (PDF) Mistaken Identity and Its Consequences.
FREE 8+ Sample Literature Review Templates in PDF | MS Word. See Our Good Literature Review Sample Writing. http://www.litreviewwritingservices.com/our-best-lit-review-sample .... Tips for Writing an Effective Research Paper.
FREE 8+ Sample Literature Review Templates in PDF | MS Word. See Our Good Literature Review Sample Writing. http://www.litreviewwritingservices.com/our-best-lit-review-sample .... Tips for Writing an Effective Research Paper.
Embarrassing Moment Essay Example - PHDessay.com. We All Have Experienced An Embarrassing Moment In Our Life Essay .... The most embarrassing moment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written .... Embarrassing Moment Essay.docx - Gisselle Cedillo October 23 2019 .... ⇉Most Embarrassing Situation in My Life Sample Essay Example | GraduateWay. My Most Embarrassing Moment Essay – Telegraph. My Most Embarrassing Moment Essay Example With Writing Tips. Definition essay: An embarrassing moment essay. Embarrassing Moment English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written .... My most embarrassing moment essay composition: Understanding such ....
ENG125 Introduction to Literature List of Literary T.docxYASHU40
ENG125: Introduction to Literature
List of Literary Techniques
Technique Description
Allusion
A reference to a recognized literary work, person, historic
event, artistic achievement, etc. that enhances the
meaning of a detail in a literary work.
Climax
The crisis or high point of tension that becomes the story’s
turning point—the point at which the outcome of the
conflict is determined.
Conflict The struggle that shapes the plot in a story.
Dramatic irony
When the reader or audience knows more about the
action than the character involved.
Epiphany
A profound and sudden personal discovery.
Exposition
Setting and essential background information presented at
the beginning of a story or play.
Falling action
A reduction in intensity following the climax in a story or
play, allowing the various complications to be worked out.
Fate
An outside source that determines human events.
Figurative language
Language used in a non-literal way to convey images and
ideas.
Figures of speech
The main tools of figurative language; include similes and
metaphors..
First-person point of view
Occurs when the narrator is a character in the story and
tells the story from his or her perspective.
Flashback
The description of an event that occurred prior to the
action in the story.
Foreshadowing
A technique a writer uses to hint or suggest what the
outcome of an important conflict or situation in a narrative
ENG125: Introduction to Literature
will be.
Imagery
A distinct representation of something that can be
experienced and understood through the senses (sight,
hearing, touch, smell, and taste), or the representation of
an idea.
Irony
A contradiction in words or actions. There are three types
of irony: verbal, situational, and dramatic.
Limited omniscient point of
view
Occurs when a narrator has access to the thoughts and
feelings of only one character in a story.
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made
between one object and another that is different from it.
Objective point of view
A detached point of view, evident when an external
narrator does not enter into the mind of any character in a
story but takes an objective stance, often to create a
dramatic effect.
Omniscient point of view
An all-knowing point of view, evident when an external
narrator has access to the thoughts and feelings of all the
characters in a story.
Persona
Literally, in Latin, “a mask.”
Plot
A connecting element in fiction; a sequence of interrelated,
conflicting actions and events that typically build to a
climax and bring about a resolution
Point of view
The perspective of the narrator who will present the action
to the reader.
Resolution The outcome of the action in a story or play.
Rising action
Conflicts and circumstances that build to a high point of
tension in a story or pl ...
Dignity Essay. . Dignity Essay by Nancy ShannonShannon Bennett
Beautiful Dignity Of Labour Essay English ~ Thatsnotus. 016 Essay Example Dignity Of Labour English 10023 Thumb ~ Thatsnotus. Dignity Essay by Nancy Shannon. Human Dignity 09 | PDF | Dignity | Catholic Social Teaching.
Welcome to TechSoup New Member Orientation and Q&A (May 2024).pdfTechSoup
In this webinar you will learn how your organization can access TechSoup's wide variety of product discount and donation programs. From hardware to software, we'll give you a tour of the tools available to help your nonprofit with productivity, collaboration, financial management, donor tracking, security, and more.
The Art Pastor's Guide to Sabbath | Steve ThomasonSteve Thomason
What is the purpose of the Sabbath Law in the Torah. It is interesting to compare how the context of the law shifts from Exodus to Deuteronomy. Who gets to rest, and why?
The Indian economy is classified into different sectors to simplify the analysis and understanding of economic activities. For Class 10, it's essential to grasp the sectors of the Indian economy, understand their characteristics, and recognize their importance. This guide will provide detailed notes on the Sectors of the Indian Economy Class 10, using specific long-tail keywords to enhance comprehension.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
This is a presentation by Dada Robert in a Your Skill Boost masterclass organised by the Excellence Foundation for South Sudan (EFSS) on Saturday, the 25th and Sunday, the 26th of May 2024.
He discussed the concept of quality improvement, emphasizing its applicability to various aspects of life, including personal, project, and program improvements. He defined quality as doing the right thing at the right time in the right way to achieve the best possible results and discussed the concept of the "gap" between what we know and what we do, and how this gap represents the areas we need to improve. He explained the scientific approach to quality improvement, which involves systematic performance analysis, testing and learning, and implementing change ideas. He also highlighted the importance of client focus and a team approach to quality improvement.
Students, digital devices and success - Andreas Schleicher - 27 May 2024..pptxEduSkills OECD
Andreas Schleicher presents at the OECD webinar ‘Digital devices in schools: detrimental distraction or secret to success?’ on 27 May 2024. The presentation was based on findings from PISA 2022 results and the webinar helped launch the PISA in Focus ‘Managing screen time: How to protect and equip students against distraction’ https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/managing-screen-time_7c225af4-en and the OECD Education Policy Perspective ‘Students, digital devices and success’ can be found here - https://oe.cd/il/5yV
We all have good and bad thoughts from time to time and situation to situation. We are bombarded daily with spiraling thoughts(both negative and positive) creating all-consuming feel , making us difficult to manage with associated suffering. Good thoughts are like our Mob Signal (Positive thought) amidst noise(negative thought) in the atmosphere. Negative thoughts like noise outweigh positive thoughts. These thoughts often create unwanted confusion, trouble, stress and frustration in our mind as well as chaos in our physical world. Negative thoughts are also known as “distorted thinking”.
The Roman Empire A Historical Colossus.pdfkaushalkr1407
The Roman Empire, a vast and enduring power, stands as one of history's most remarkable civilizations, leaving an indelible imprint on the world. It emerged from the Roman Republic, transitioning into an imperial powerhouse under the leadership of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. This transformation marked the beginning of an era defined by unprecedented territorial expansion, architectural marvels, and profound cultural influence.
The empire's roots lie in the city of Rome, founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BCE. Over centuries, Rome evolved from a small settlement to a formidable republic, characterized by a complex political system with elected officials and checks on power. However, internal strife, class conflicts, and military ambitions paved the way for the end of the Republic. Julius Caesar’s dictatorship and subsequent assassination in 44 BCE created a power vacuum, leading to a civil war. Octavian, later Augustus, emerged victorious, heralding the Roman Empire’s birth.
Under Augustus, the empire experienced the Pax Romana, a 200-year period of relative peace and stability. Augustus reformed the military, established efficient administrative systems, and initiated grand construction projects. The empire's borders expanded, encompassing territories from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Euphrates. Roman legions, renowned for their discipline and engineering prowess, secured and maintained these vast territories, building roads, fortifications, and cities that facilitated control and integration.
The Roman Empire’s society was hierarchical, with a rigid class system. At the top were the patricians, wealthy elites who held significant political power. Below them were the plebeians, free citizens with limited political influence, and the vast numbers of slaves who formed the backbone of the economy. The family unit was central, governed by the paterfamilias, the male head who held absolute authority.
Culturally, the Romans were eclectic, absorbing and adapting elements from the civilizations they encountered, particularly the Greeks. Roman art, literature, and philosophy reflected this synthesis, creating a rich cultural tapestry. Latin, the Roman language, became the lingua franca of the Western world, influencing numerous modern languages.
Roman architecture and engineering achievements were monumental. They perfected the arch, vault, and dome, constructing enduring structures like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and aqueducts. These engineering marvels not only showcased Roman ingenuity but also served practical purposes, from public entertainment to water supply.
CLASS 11 CBSE B.St Project AIDS TO TRADE - INSURANCE
Doust
1. 2010 CRC PhD Student Conference
Investigating narrative ‘effects’: the case of suspense
Richard Doust, richard.doust@free.fr
Supervisors Richard Power, Paul Piwek
Department/Institute Computing
Status Part-time
Probation viva Before
Starting date October 2008
1 Introduction
Just how do narrative structures such as a Hitchcock film generate the well-known feeling known as suspense ? Our
goal is to investigate the structures of narratives that produce various narrative effects such as suspense, curiosity,
surprise. The fundamental question guiding this research could be phrased thus:
What are the minimal requirements on formal descriptions of narratives such that we can capture these
phenomena and generate new narratives which contain them ?
Clearly, the above phenomena may depend also on extra-narrative features such as music, filming angles, and so
on. These will not be our primary concern here. Our approach consists of two main parts:
1. We present a simple method for defining a Storybase which for our purposes will serve to produce different
‘tellings’ of the same story on which we can test our suspense modelling.
2. We present a formal approach to generating the understanding of the story as it is told, and then use the
output of this approach to suggest an algorithm for measuring the suspense level of a given telling of a story.
We can thus compare different tellings of a story and suggest which ones will have high suspense, and which
ones low.
2 Suspense
2.1 Existing definitions
Dictionary definitions of the word ’suspense’ suggest that there really ought to be several different words for what
is more like a concept cluster than a single concept. The Collins English dictionary gives three definitions:
1. apprehension about what is going to happen. . .
2. an uncertain cognitive state; "the matter remained in suspense for several years" . . .
3. excited anticipation of an approaching climax; "the play kept the audience in suspense" anticipation, ex-
pectancy - an expectation.
Gerrig and Bernardo (1994) suggest that reading fiction involves constantly looking for solutions to the plot-based
dilemmas faced by the characters in a story world. One of the suggestions which come out of this work is that
suspense is greater the lower the number of solutions to the hero’s current problem that can be found by the reader.
Cheong and Young’s (2006) narrative generating system uses the idea that a reader’s suspense level depends on
the number and type of solutions she can imagine in order to solve the problems facing the narrative’s preferred
character.
Generally, it seems that more overarching and precise definitions of suspense are wanting in order to connect
some of the above approaches. The point of view we will assume is that the principles by which literary narratives
are designed are obscured by the lack of sufficiently analytical concepts to define them. We will use as our starting
point work on stories by Brewer and Lichtenstein (1981) which seems fruitful in that it proposes not only a view of
suspense, but also of related narrative phenomena such as surprise and curiosity.
Page 15 of 125
1
2. 2010 CRC PhD Student Conference
2.2 Brewer and Lichtenstein’s approach
In Brewer and Lichtenstein (1981) propose that there are three major discourse structures which account for the
enjoyment of a large number of stories: surprise, curiosity and suspense. For suspense, there must be an initiating
event which could lead to significant consequences for one of the characters in the narrative. This event leads to
the reader feeling concern about the outcome for this character, and if this state is maintained over time, then the
reader will feel suspense. As Brewer and Lichtenstein say, often ‘additional discourse material is placed between
the initiating event and the outcome event, to encourage the build up of suspense’ (Brewer and Lichtenstein, 1981,
p.17).
Much of the current work can be seen as an attempt to formalise and make robust the notions of narrative
understanding that Brewer laid out. We will try to suggest a model of suspense which explains, for example, how
the placing of additional material between the initiating event and the outcome event increases the suspense felt in
a given narrative. We will also suggest ways in which curiosity and surprise could be formally linked to suspense.
We also hope that our approach will be able to shed some light on the techniques for creating suspense presented
in writer’s manuals.
3 The storybase
3.1 Event structure perception
Our starting point for analysing story structure is a list of (verbally described) story events. Some recent studies
(Speer, 2007) claim that people break narratives down into digestible chunks in this way. If this is the case, then
there should expect to discover commonalities between different types of narrative (literature, film, storytelling)
especially as regards phenomena such as suspense. One goal of this work is to discover just these commonalities.
3.2 Storybase : from which we can talk about variants of the ’same’ story.
One of the key points that Brewer and Lichtenstein make is that the phenomena of suspense depends on the order
in which information about the story is released, as well as on which information is released and which withheld.
One might expect, following this account, that telling ‘the same story’ in two different ways might produce different
levels of suspense.
In order to be able to test different tellings of the same story, we define the notion of a STORYBASE. This
should consist of a set of events, together with some constraints on the set. Any telling of the events which obeys
these constraints should be recognised by most listeners as being ‘the same story’. We define four types of link
between the members of the set of possible events:
• Starting points, Event links, Causal constraints, Stopping points.
The causal constraints can be positive or negative. They define, for example, which events need to have been
told for others to now be able to be told. Our approach can be seen as a kind of specialised story-grammar for
a particular story. The grammar generates ‘sentences’, and each ‘sentence’ is a different telling of the story. The
approach is different to story schemas. We are not trying to encode information about the world at this stage, any
story form is possible. With this grammar, we can generate potentially all of the possible tellings of a given story
which are recognisably the same story, and in this way, we can test our heuristics for meta-effects such as suspense
on a whole body of stories.
4 Inference
4.1 Inference types
To model the inferential processes which go on when we listen to or read a story, or watch a film, we define three
types of inference:
1. Inference of basic events from sensory input : a perceived action in the narrative together with an ‘event
classifier module’ produces a list of ordered events.
2. Inferences about the current state of the story (or deductions).
3. Inferences about the future state of the story (or predictions).
Page 16 of 125
3. 2010 CRC PhD Student Conference
Clearly these inferential processes also rely on general knowledge about about the world or the story domain, and
even about stories themselves.
So, for each new story event we build up a set of inferences STORYSOFAR of these three types. At each new
story event, new inferences are generated and old inferences rejected. There is a constant process of maintenance
of the logical coherence of the set of inferences as the story is told. To model this formally, we create a set of
‘inferential triples’ of the form: “if X and Y then Z” or X.Y->Z, where X, Y, and Z are Deductions or Predictions.
5 Measuring suspense
5.1 A ‘suspense-grammar’ on top of the storybase
To try to capture phenomena such as suspense, curiosity and surprise, we aim to create and test different algorithms
which take as their input the generated story, together with the inferences generated by the triples mentioned above.
A strong feature of this approach is that we can test our algorithms on a set of very closely related stories which
have been generated automatically.
5.2 Modelling conflicting predictions
Our current model of suspense is based on the existence of conflicting predictions with high salience. (This notion
of the salience of a predicted conflict could be defined in terms of the degree to which whole sets of following
predictions for the characters in the narrative are liable to change. For the moment, intuitively, it relates to how
the whole story might ‘flow’ in a different direction.) For the story domain, we construct the set INCOMP of pairs
of mutually conflicting predictions with a given salience:
INCOMP = { (P1,NotP1,Salience1), (P2,NotP2,Salience2), . . . }
We can now describe a method for modelling the conflicting predictions triggered by a narrative. If at time T, P1
and NotP1 are members of STORYSOFAR, then we have found two incompatible predictions in our ‘story-so-far’.
5.3 The predictive chain
We need one further definition in order to be able to define our current suspense measure for a story. For a given
prediction P1, we (recursively) define the ’prediction chain’ function C of P1:
C(P1) is the set of all predicted events P such that P.y -> P’ where P’ is a member of C(P1) for some
y.
5.4 Distributing salience as a rough heuristic for modelling suspense in a narrative
Suppose we have a predicted conflict between predictionA and predictionB which has a salience of 10. In these
circumstances, it would seem natural to ascribe the salience of 5 to each of the (at least) two predicted events
predictionA and predictionB which produce the conflict. Now suppose that leading back from predictionA there is
another predictionC that needs to be satisfied for the predictionA to occur. How do we spread out the salience of
the conflict over these different predicted events ?
5.5 A ’thermodynamic’ heuristic for creating a suspense measure
A predicted incompatibility as described above triggers the creation of CC(P1,P2,Z), the set of two causal chains
C(P1) and C(P2) which lead up to these incompatible predictions. Now, we have :
CC(P1,P2,Z) = C(P1) + C(P2)
To determine our suspense heuristic, we first find the size L of CC(P1,P2,Z). And at each story step we define the
suspense level S in relation to the conflicting predictions P1 and P2 as S = Z / L. Intuitively, one might say that
the salience of the predicted incompatibility is ’spread over’ or distributed over the relevant predictions that lead up
to it. We can call this a ‘thermodynamic’ model because it is as if the salience or ‘heat’ of one predicted conflicting
moment is transmitted back down the predictive line to the present moment. All events which could have a bearing
on any of the predictions in the chain are for this reason subject to extra attention.
Page 17 of 125
4. 2010 CRC PhD Student Conference
If the set of predictions stays the same over a series of story steps, and in a first approximation, we assume that
the suspensefulness of a narrative is equivalent to the sum of the suspense level of each story step, then we can say
that the narrative in question will have a total suspense level S-total relative to this particular predicted conflict of
S-total = Z/L + Z/(L-1) + Z/(L-2) + . . . + Z/L
as the number of predictions in CC(P1,P2,Z) decreases each time a prediction is either confirmed or annulled. To
resume we can a working definition of suspense as follows:
5.6 Definition of suspense
Definition : the suspense level of a narrative depends on the salience of predicted con-
flicts between two or more possible outcomes and on the amount of story time that these
predicted conflicts remain unresolved and ‘active’.
From this definition of suspense we would expect two results:
1. the suspense level at a given story step will increase as the number of predictions necessary to be confirmed
leading up to the conflict decreases, and
2. the way to maximise suspense in a narrative is for the narrative to ‘keep active’ predicted incompatibilities
with a high salience over several story steps.
In fact, this may be just how suspenseful narratives work. One might say,
suspenseful narratives engineer a spreading of the salience of key moments backwards in
time, thus maintaining a kind of tension over sufficiently long periods for emotional effects
to build up in the spectator.
6 Summary
We make two claims:
1. The notion of a storybase is a simple and powerful to generate variants of the same story.
2. Meta-effects of narrative can be tested by using formal algorithms on these story variants. These algorithms
build on modelling of inferential processes and knowledge about the world.
7 References
• Brewer, W. F. (1996). The nature of narrative suspense and the problem of rereading. In P. Vorderer,
H. J. Wulff, and M. Friedrichsen (Eds.), Suspense: Conceptualizations, theoretical analyses, and empirical
explorations. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 107-127.
• Brewer, W.F., and Lichtenstein, E. H. (1981). Event schemas, story schemas, and story grammars. In J.
Long and A. Baddeley (Eds.), Attention and Performance IX. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
363-379.
• Cheong, Y.G. and Young, R.M. 2006. A Computational Model of Narrative Generation for Suspense. In
Computational Aesthetics: Artificial Intelligence Approaches to Beauty and Happiness: Papers from the 2006
AAAI Workshop, ed. Hugo Liu and Rada Mihalcea, Technical Report WS-06-04. American Association for
Artificial Intelligence, Menlo Park, California, USA, pp. 8- 15.
• Gerrig R.J., Bernardo A.B.I. Readers as problem-solvers in the experience of suspense (1994) Poetics, 22 (6), pp. 459-
472.
• Speer, N. K., Zacks, J. M., & Reynolds, J. R. (2007). Human brain activity time-locked to narrative event
boundaries. Psychological Science, 18, 449-455.
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