Hmm. You just had me thinking if that’s true or not. I think money is an interesting thing. Inherently, it has no value, it’s not rare, it’s not useful. It is only useful because we as a society believe that it now has value. But that’s more of a “we all decided that money is now worth something.” Like… a question of definition.
Another is safety. A society that believes they’re safe will probably have a lot less tension and infighting than a society that believes they’re unsafe.
On the other hand, you might erroneously believe that a bike helmet makes you much safer in traffic, to the point where you may ride more recklessly than otherwise and therefore be less safe than if you hadn’t worn a helmet…
davidagain@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Yes and no. Beliefs can definitely shape reality.
If someone believes that they can’t do something difficult, they often don’t attempt it, so don’t acquire the skills they would need, and stay unable to do it. The converse is also true.
Children are heavily influenced by their parents’ beliefs about them.
Believing something about different brands of soda doesn’t change the chemical composition of them, but in a world where products are judged on their sales rather than their chemical composition, changing the perception of a product can fundamentally change its sales, making it a better product by the only objective measure that’s consistently used. This is even more true in the world of fashion, for example most strongly with trainers etc.
Anything where human behaviour changes reality is a place where beliefs change reality.
Our beliefs shape the world strongly and powerfully. They change reality.