In his book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Noah Harari explores the history of our species, highlighting the key developments and events that have shaped human civilization. One of the central themes of the book is the role that imagination has played in our success as a species.

fiction has enabled us not merely to imagine things, but to do so collectively. We can weave common myths such as the biblical creation story, the Dreamtime myths of Aboriginal Australians, and the nationalist myths of modern states. Such myths give Sapiens the unprecedented ability to cooperate flexibly in large numbers.^1

According to Harari, the ability of humans to collectively imagine things that don't exist in the physical world, such as gods, nations, and money, has been crucial to our ability to cooperate with large numbers of people and to create complex systems of government and trade. These imagined constructs allow us to work together and to coordinate our actions, even when we don't share a common language or cultue.

For example, two priests from different parts of the world might meet for the first time and work to build a chapel. They do not know each other, and otherwise have no reason to trust each other. However, their shared belief in the same God allows them to exercise trust and work together to accomplish new goals.

In modern societies, this ability to imagine and create shared beliefs and values is more important than ever. In a world where we are increasingly interconnected and interdependent, we rely on a wide range of imagined constructs to maintain social order and to enable us to work together towards common goals. These constructs include things like laws, money, and national borders, which have no inherent existence in the physical world, but are nevertheless crucial to the functioning of our societies.

One of the challenges facing modern societies is the way that our imaginations can be manipulated and exploited by those in power. Harari discusses how religious and political leaders have often used their ability to control the imaginations of others to gain power and influence. In some cases, this has led to violence and conflict, as different groups have fought to impose their own imagined constructs on others.

However, despite these challenges, the ability of humans to imagine and create shared beliefs and values remains one of our greatest strengths. It is this ability that has allowed us to create complex and sophisticated societies, and to overcome many of the obstacles that have confronted us throughout history. As we face the challenges of the future, our ability to imagine and create fictional constructs will continue to be a crucial factor in our success as a species.