In a world of bureaucratic money managers with mediocre performance, investors want to believe in the myth of maverick gunslingers who outsmart the market.

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But the world will be a poorer place if Mr Fischer is proved right and the old Genesis myth of a single language for all finally comes true.

ECONOMIST: Language

And I think there's also going to be maybe even an evening out of the terms of trade, because it's a myth to think we live in a world of free trade, of course.

FORBES

From the cave painters through Greek myth to the fiction factory of Hollywood, people have sought to make sense of their world by developing a compelling narrative.

FORBES: Executive Coaching From Prince Hal

Equally distorting is the myth of a Golden Age, a lost world of happy families before modern society did its damage.

ECONOMIST: The silence of the lambs

It is the myth of a supreme creator who is removed from the world and can only be reached through the medium of spirits.

ECONOMIST: The spirits that move Africa

Tokyo-based foreign correspondents have instead promoted approved themes, notably the myth that Japan has become the basket case of the industrial world.

FORBES: The Boeing 787: The Truth Finally Hits the Fan

If her technique is hardly more than that of a home movie, her strategy is complex: the myth of the unimpeachable innocence of wild children against an uncaring world converges with the public image that Le Besco, the actress, projects.

NEWYORKER: Half-Price

Every variant of the dance brings to life the myth of the birth of the universe, so that the ritual ceremony of the Voladores expresses the world view and values of the community, facilitates communication with the gods and invites prosperity.

UNESCO: Culture