Every now and again on Facebook, I learn that friends of mine from kindergarten are doing really really cool stuff. Today I’m chatting with Vera Tobin, a professor of cognitive science at Case Western, and author of the upcoming book, The Elements of Surprise, which comes out on April 16, 2018. Her book is all about how the surprises, tw ists, and unexpected revelations we love in fiction actually work on our brains cognitively. In her work, she breaks down the different ways in which we processes surprises and twists in books and movies, and the structure of different types of surprises. As you might imagine, when I saw her talking about her book on Facebook, I was immediately super nosy. Harvard University Press was cool enough to send me an ARC, even though I’m not (a) a cognitive scientist or (b) an academic (thank you, y’all!) and it was a fascinating read, and I’m not just saying that because Vera was my best friend in kindergarten. When we recorded this, we probably hadn’t spoken to each other in person or via phone in at least 20-25 years, but we had a great time. She tells us about: The importance of surprise and also cognitive satisfaction, especially in genre fiction The parallels between literary surprises and orgasmsThe categorizing of spoilers - different types and different effects We also talk about the book The Duke’s Wager by Edith Layton, which features a very twisty romance indeed - and yes, we spoil it a little bit while discussing it. Get bonus content on Patreon
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