The Big Con

[DetlefK]

4. I prefer Stephen Baxter's idea:

(I forgot, which book.)
She had lost her child, was stricken with grief and went a little bit crazy. But she was also a little bit smarter than the others. She did something the others could not comprehend and earned a special and feared status in society. Being crazy, she started believing in things that didn't exist, but she also realized that she can use trickery and belief to manipulate others. She realized that she can make stupid people do smart things by using belief to manipulate them.

And that's why belief is a socially and evolutionary dominant trait.