--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truly unique trait of 'Sapiens' is…" description: "\"The truly unique trait of 'Sapiens' is our ability to create and believe fiction. All other animals use their communication system to describe reality...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62b/yuval-noah-harari-100_believe_the-truly-unique-trait-of-sapiens-is-our_956386.jpg" --- # The truly unique trait of 'Sapiens' is our ability to… ![“The truly unique trait of 'Sapiens' is our ability to create and believe fiction. All other animals use their communication system to describe reality. We use our communication system to create new realities. Of course, not all fictions are shared by all humans, but at least one has become…” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62b/yuval-noah-harari-100_believe_the-truly-unique-trait-of-sapiens-is-our_956386.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62b/yuval-noah-harari-100_believe_the-truly-unique-trait-of-sapiens-is-our_956386.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62b/yuval-noah-harari-100_believe_the-truly-unique-trait-of-sapiens-is-our_956386.jpg) > “The truly unique trait of 'Sapiens' is our ability to create and believe fiction. All other animals use their communication system to describe reality. We use our communication system to create new realities. Of course, not all fictions are shared by all humans, but at least one has become universal in our world, and this is money.” [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans uniquely create shared fictions, allowing cooperation on abstract concepts like money, which shape societies. **In simple terms:** Humans believe in imagined realities that enable large‑scale cooperation. Key Takeaway Recognize the power of shared narratives. Themes cooperation fiction money culture human nature Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - building organizations - designing policies - teaching history - creating myths Key Concepts Collective belief systems social constructs economic systems Questions to Reflect On - How do imagined realities influence behavior? - What shared fictions could we change? A Different Perspective Fiction can be manipulated for control; not all shared stories are beneficial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Sapiens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sapiens/) ## Related quotes > [Social media is hugely important as a vehicle for communication. That's the reality today, whether you like it or not. The good part is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dundas/social-media-is-hugely-important-as-a-vehicle-for-communication-that/) [Peter Dundas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dundas/) > [Homo sapiens, you and me, we are basically the same as people 10,000 years ago. The next revolution will change that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/homo-sapiens-you-and-me-we-are-basically-the-same-as-people-10-000/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“It does not take much to provide the objective biological needs of Homo sapiens. After those needs are met, more money can be spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/it-does-not-take-much-to-provide-the-objective-biological-needs-of/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Homo sapiens does its best to forget the fact, but it is an animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/homo-sapiens-does-its-best-to-forget-the-fact-but-it-is-an-animal/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“other words, while the behaviour patterns of archaic humans remained fixed for tens of thousands of years, Sapiens could transform their social structures, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/other-words-while-the-behaviour-patterns-of-archaic-humans-remained/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Homo sapiens drove to extinction about half of the planet’s big beasts long before humans invented the wheel, writing or iron tools.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/homo-sapiens-drove-to-extinction-about-half-of-the-planet-s-big/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“But humans do such things all the time. Because the Sapiens social order is imagined, humans cannot preserve the critical information for running it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/but-humans-do-such-things-all-the-time-because-the-sapiens-social/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [When the first humans reached Australia about 45,000 years ago, they quickly drove to extinction 90% of its large animals. This was the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/when-the-first-humans-reached-australia-about-45-000-years-ago-they/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“To understand the rise of Christianity or the French Revolution, it is not enough to comprehend the interaction of genes, hormones and organisms. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/to-understand-the-rise-of-christianity-or-the-french-revolution-it-is/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [We are probably one of the last generations of Homo sapiens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/we-are-probably-one-of-the-last-generations-of-homo-sapiens/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Seventy thousand years ago, Homo sapiens was still an insignificant animal minding its own business in a corner of Africa. In the following millennia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/seventy-thousand-years-ago-homo-sapiens-was-still-an-insignificant/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Humans nowadays completely dominate the planet not because the individual human is far smarter and more nimble-fingered than the individual chimp or wolf, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/humans-nowadays-completely-dominate-the-planet-not-because-the/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“How can we distinguish what is biologically determined from what people merely try to justify through biological myths? A good rule of thumb is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/how-can-we-distinguish-what-is-biologically-determined-from-what/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Ceauşescu and his cronies dominated 20 million Romanians for four decades because they ensured three vital conditions. First, they placed loyal communist apparatchiks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/ceau-escu-and-his-cronies-dominated-20-million-romanians-for-four/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Sapiens don’t behave according to a cold mathematical logic, but rather according to a warm social logic. We are ruled by emotions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/sapiens-don-t-behave-according-to-a-cold-mathematical-logic-but/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More by Yuval Noah Harari > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Today the main source of wealth is knowledge. 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We invented them to serve us; why do we find ourselves sacrificing our lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/corporations-money-and-nations-exist-only-in-our-imagination-we/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Small children in affluent societies often dislike showering, and it takes them years of education and parental discipline to adopt this supposedly attractive custom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/small-children-in-affluent-societies-often-dislike-showering-and-it/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Ever more scholars see cultures as a kind of mental infection or parasite, with humans as its unwitting host. 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I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. 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Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The truly unique trait of 'Sapiens' is our ability to create and believe fiction. All other animals use their communication system to describe reality. We use our communication system to create new realities. 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