Pascale Feldkamp Moreira, Research Assistant, Center for Humanities Computing, Aarhus University
Yuri Bizzoni, Postdoc, Center for Humanities Computing, Aarhus University

Abstract: Does successful literature have certain properties? This question is highly contested in research, between the position that reader appreciation is subjective and context-dependent, and a work-intrinsic position, i.e., that readers react to work-internal features that are relatively stable across time and space.  Over the last three years, the Fabula-NET project has focused on exploring both extrinsic and intrinsic features to gauge the reception of narrative texts. In this talk, we will be presenting on the evolution of the project, starting with our initial focus on a balance between unpredictability and predictability in the reading experience, which we measured via the dynamics of texts’ sentiment arcs.

While sentiment arcs are relatively coarse representations – a simplification of diverse narrative emotions – our findings indicate that in simpler domains, such as in fairy tales, there is a linear relationship between sentiment arcs' self-similarity and their reception. In contrast, more complex and diverse texts, like Nobel prize-winning literature, exhibit a "sweet spot" between predictability and unpredictability. While points of balance vary depending on the text type and reception dimension or quality proxy chosen, controlled experiments reveal significant relationships between sentiment arcs' self-similarity and their appreciation across different audiences. 
Moreover, our research also underscores that the text which sentiment arcs are conveyed through affects novels’ reception. We show that combining deep narrative and sentiment features with surface-level stylistic features – such as how ‘readable’ a text is – enhances the prediction of a book's reception, with semantic categories providing additional insights.

So while the coherence of sentiment arcs varies among different appraisal groups, the interplay between stylistic and semantic levels in narrative novels significantly impacts their reception. We observe that different quality proxies tend to strike a balance of affective and linguistic unpredictability, reflecting, perhaps, a certain literary way of optimizing communication strategies with readers.

Melanie Rosen, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Trent University

Abstract: What makes a dream memory genuine? We generally think that when we wake up, we remember having hallucinatory experiences in our sleep. But what is it that we are remembering? One skeptical view would be to say that dream memories are not memories at all but some other kind of mental state. Under the causal theory of memory, a mental state is a memory if there is a causal connection between the mental state and the remembered event. Experiences lay down memory traces in the brain, known as engrams, which are reactivated when remembering, known as ecphory. Dreams pose two problems for this view. Firstly, our waking memory of our dreams is very poor and prone to confabulation. Dreams themselves are mental states and it is not clear what we should say about these kind of memories as opposed to memories of events that occur in the world external to the mind. Secondly, we have exceedingly poor access to our waking memories while we dream and yet dreams can play out waking experience. What should we say of such a dream when, unlike normal cases of memory, dreams allow you to relive events and these replayings are often experienced not as memories?  Dreams will be discussed in relation to the causalist and anticausalist debate  of memory.

Roope Kaaronen, Postdoctoral Researcher, Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme; Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS); Past Present Sustainability (PAES)

Abstract: Few cultural practices beyond language are as widespread as string figure games. Their global distribution and potential to yield insights into cultural transmission and cognition have long been noted. Yet, it remains unknown how or when this behavior originated and to what extent shared motifs are signals of repeated innovations or deep cultural transmission. Here, we combined a global cross-cultural inventory of string figures with a novel methodology based on knot theory, which enables the unequivocal numerical coding of string figures. We performed a computational analysis of a sample of 826 figures from 92 societies around the world. Across these societies, we found 83 recurring string figure designs, some of which are regionally restricted while others display a global distribution. The cognitively opaque nature of string figure designs and their clear geographic distribution reveals processes of cultural transmission, innovation, and convergent evolution. Most strikingly, the global distribution of some figures raises the possibility of shared ancient origins.

Ingvi Örnolfsson, PhD student, Department of Health Technology, Danish Technical University

Abstract: Current paradigms of diagnosing hearing loss rely heavily on passive listening tests, where no conversational partner is present. While such tests allow the audiologist to diagnose hearing-related issues, they do not directly inform about the capacity for successful communication, which inherently requires interaction. Communication of course relies on hearing, but not entirely, and can in fact be entirely non-verbal.

In my work, I am exploring the possibilities of developing methods for quantifying communication ability using a group decision making paradigm. I will present an exploratory study in which triads solve a collaborative general-knowledge task with and without the presence of loud background noise. I use a group decision-making model along with individual pre- and post-conversation decision responses to evaluate how group members influence each other during the conversation. The results show an interaction between background noise and metacognition, such that more confident members have a stronger impact on post-conversation decisions. There is also some indication that groups' post-conversation decisions are generally less coherent when conversing in noise.