There is a sort of gravity in good storytelling that pulls a reader towards the conclusion, but this post is not about how gravity affects storytelling. It is about gravity and separately about storytelling.

Gravity is so much a part of science fiction...mostly how to sneak past it. Yes, Newtonian physics describes its effects adequately for practical uses, and quantum physics has a placeholder for it in the form of gravitons, but what is it? That still eludes physicists. New Scientist has easily understood, concise (about 300 words) articles on each of seven aspects of gravity: What is it? Why does it only pull? Why is it so weak? Why is it so fine-tuned (friendly towards life)? Why does life need it? Can we counter it? Will quantum theory ever explain it?

We've had quite a few posts on storytelling, including these: 1 2 3. Here are three from New Scientist, which mostly look at storytelling from an evolutionary perspective, storytelling ape (a.k.a. The Science of Discworld II: The Globe by Terry Pratchett), origins of storytelling, and storytelling shaping human minds.