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Middle-earth wasn't built in a day: How do we explain the costs of creating a world?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 November 2022

Aaron D. Lightner Open the ORCID record for Aaron D. Lightner [Opens in a new window] ,
Cynthiann Heckelsmiller Open the ORCID record for Cynthiann Heckelsmiller [Opens in a new window]  and
Edward H. Hagen Open the ORCID record for Edward H. Hagen [Opens in a new window]
Aaron D. Lightner
Affiliation:
Department of the Study of Religion, Aarhus University, 8000Aarhus, [email protected] Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4910, USA, [email protected], [email protected]
Cynthiann Heckelsmiller
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4910, USA, [email protected], [email protected]
Edward H. Hagen
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4910, USA, [email protected], [email protected]
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Abstract

Dubourg and Baumard explain why fictional worlds are attractive to consumers. A complete account of fictional worlds, however, should also explain why some people create them. Creation is a costly and time-consuming process that does not resemble exploration but does resemble the culturally universal phenomenon of knowledge specialization.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e286
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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