The familiarity heuristic is when the familiar is favoured over novel places, people or things. This happens everywhere.

We buy brands we have experience with. We hang around people we know. We visit websites that are familiar. The familiar is safe, and safe is good. But not always.

Occasionally, it’s good to venture out into the unknown and dive into the rabbit hole. There, we find things that stretch our worldview – that make us wiser.

Books do this. 1984 is a warning of totalitarianism and was considered barbaric at its time of writing. To Kill a Mockingbird examines racism and injustice in America and is frequently banned. The Little Prince reminds us to be children in a world dominated by adults.

These texts make our world bigger. They grab the edges of our world and stretch them ever so slightly, until we can see further than before.

Do not underestimate the power of stories to change lives.