this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2025
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Almost everything is pretend though, unless we're talking about the basic laws of science (and even those change with context).
Language is "pretend". Words don't mean anything unless we all agree they mean something.
Valuing family is "pretend". We all agree to give family importance, but plenty of animals don't.
All laws are pretend. Country borders are pretend. Gender roles are pretend. Social position is pretend. Even my job is only my job because everyone agrees to give me responsibility in this role. Pretty much everything in society only works because of tacit agreement.
You should check out the book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Humans have this amazing ability to make up all sorts of crazy shit, but it has huge advantages in our ability to organize.
One on one, a chimp would easily beat up a human. Ten on ten, the chimps still have an advantage. But 200 on 200, humans would win no contest. Our ability to make shit up allows us to coordinate with huge numbers people that we don't even know, which is extraordinarily rare.
Couldn't have said it better myself.