1st off, i want to say that you take a good tack in equally studying both sides of the issue you present here.

Myths are obviously more inspiring. The problem of course is they're for the most part, fantasy.

I tend to side with reality. I don't want to sidetrack into politics as I'm sure you'll absolutely hate that, but this topic piqued my interest as I often wonder just how much of things we consider "history" may in fact be mythmaking (or propaganda) for the sake of inspiration and morale.

And as a story gets told and re-told it can in fact turn to reality (in the short term). I'm sure snopes.com is chock full of things people take as real actually being urban legends or just flat out myths.

So nah, if it came to a choice between being soberly told a fact or being told an inspiring story based on a bit of truth , then i'd rather be informed than inspired.

Plus I think some extraordinary people can inspire without embellishment. It's the mediocre ones who are unable.

Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else. --Will Rogers "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees." - George W. Bush I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people would .. try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile. - Condoleeza Rice Barbara Bush: It's Good Enough for the Poor To comfort the powerless and make the powerful uncomfortable.