--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can weave common myths such as the…" description: "\"“We can weave common myths such as the biblical creation story, the Dreamtime myths of Aboriginal Australians, and the nationalist myths of modern stat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/yuval-noah-harari-100_rule-the-world_we-can-weave-common-myths-such-as-the-bi_2251263.jpg" --- # We can weave common myths such as the biblical creation… ![“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. Ants and bees can also work together in huge numbers…” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/yuval-noah-harari-100_rule-the-world_we-can-weave-common-myths-such-as-the-bi_2251263.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/yuval-noah-harari-100_rule-the-world_we-can-weave-common-myths-such-as-the-bi_2251263.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/yuval-noah-harari-100_rule-the-world_we-can-weave-common-myths-such-as-the-bi_2251263.jpg) > ““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. Ants and bees can also work together in huge numbers, but they do so in a very rigid manner and only with close relatives. Wolves and chimpanzees cooperate far more flexibly than ants, but they can do so only with small numbers of other individuals that they know intimately. Sapiens can cooperate in extremely flexible ways with countless numbers of strangers. That’s why Sapiens rule the world, whereas ants eat our leftovers and chimps are locked up in zoos and research laboratories.”” [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. Human myths enable large‑scale flexible cooperation among strangers, unlike rigid animal cooperation. **In simple terms:** Myths allow humans to cooperate widely. Key Takeaway Leverage shared narratives for collaboration. Themes anthropology cooperation mythmaking Mood insightful inspirational Type sociological insight philosophical observation When to use this quote - team building - global initiatives - community projects Key Concepts cultural evolution social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - What narratives unite your group? - How can we ensure myths promote inclusive cooperation? A Different Perspective Myths can be manipulated for control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chimpanzees Cooperate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chimpanzees-cooperate-5143188/) [Creation Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation-story/) [Myths Sapiens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myths-sapiens-3089139/) [Rule the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-the-world/) [Sapiens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sapiens/) [Sapiens Cooperate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sapiens-cooperate-5143187/) [Sapiens Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sapiens-rule-5143189/) [Work together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-together/) ## Related quotes > [“fiction has enabled us not merely to imagine things, but to do so collectively. We can weave common myths such as the biblical creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/fiction-has-enabled-us-not-merely-to-imagine-things-but-to-do-so/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Sapiens rule the world because only they can weave an intersubjective web of meaning: a web of laws, forces, entities and places that exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/sapiens-rule-the-world-because-only-they-can-weave-an-intersubjective/) [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/) > [The truly unique trait of 'Sapiens' is our ability to create and believe fiction. All other animals use their communication system to describe reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-truly-unique-trait-of-sapiens-is-our-ability-to-create-and/) [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. 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Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) [Browse all 246 Rule the world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-the-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“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. Ants and bees can also work together in huge numbers, but they do so in a very rigid manner and only with close relatives. Wolves and chimpanzees cooperate far more flexibly than ants, but they can do so only with small numbers of other individuals that they know intimately. Sapiens can cooperate in extremely flexible ways with countless numbers of strangers. 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