Hasif Amini brings up an interesting pattern in human behavior in his short story “Words Without Borders.” He states that we often find or create a story for anything that is unknown to us. Amini’s use of the stars as an example is perfect because these stars are just spots of light to us. However, humans find a way to connect the dots, give them shape, name them, and create stories for each creation. Wether it be the stars in the sky as Amini gives as an example, or on how the world was created, we, as humans, are naturally born with the instinct to think. Just as Descartes’s “Cogito Ergo Sum” suggests, we think, therefore we are. Humans are constantly looking for answers and solving anything that’s unknown. The unknown is a “confusing” idea and humans want to make sense of it to the best of their ability. We do this by creating stories for the things happening around us everyday.

Fiction is an important form of knowledge because it allows us to think, create, and use our imagination. It allows us to experience everything happening in stories vividly in our minds. While it may be unlikely for it to happen to us, we are able to learn through the experience of others. We might never have seen the dragon mentioned in a fiction book, but we end up being able to imagine it in our minds. Reading fiction opens up a new world and opens up our minds to all possibilities. It gives us an opportunity to gain knowledge we are unable to find in nonfiction.