Mystery or not? Quantum cognition and the interpretation of the fantastic in Neil Gaiman

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F61989592%3A15210%2F16%3A33160244" target="_blank" >RIV/61989592:15210/16:33160244 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/aa.2016.8.issue-1/aa-2016-0003/aa-2016-0003.xml" target="_blank" >https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/aa.2016.8.issue-1/aa-2016-0003/aa-2016-0003.xml</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/aa-2016-0003" target="_blank" >10.1515/aa-2016-0003</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Mystery or not? Quantum cognition and the interpretation of the fantastic in Neil Gaiman

Original language description

The article describes a reader-response experiment focusing on the perception of the genre of the fantastic. It also proposes an update of the genre's structuralist definition to better conform to contemporary cognitive approaches. Participants answered questions relating to the interpretation of events and important symbols in a Neil Gaiman short story and were also asked if they considered the story "fantasy" or "realistic fiction." Tzvetan Todorov characterized the fantastic as a hesitation between the uncanny (realistic interpretation) and the marvelous (supernatural interpretation). Neil Gaiman, a popular contemporary author of genre fiction, has utilized this hesitation between psychological and supernatural explanations of his stories to great effect. The results show a consistently higher degree of enjoyment in readers who were aware of the dual interpretation and partook in the hesitation. This paper also introduces the concept of quantum cognition into literary theory and explains the benefit of using terminology from this discipline in a reader-response context. The findings of this study could be the first step towards a better understanding of the different ways in which readers cognitively approach the fantastic or genre in general.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_x - Unclassified - Peer-reviewed scientific article (Jimp, Jsc and Jost)

CEP classification

AJ - Literature, mass media, audio-visual activities

OECD FORD branch

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Project

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Continuities

S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach

Publication year

2016

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Ars Aeterna

ISSN

1337-9291

e-ISSN

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Volume of the periodical

8

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1

Country of publishing house

PL - POLAND

Number of pages

10

Pages from-to

24-33

UT code for WoS article

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EID of the result in the Scopus database

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