New Delhi, May 24 -- When motivational gurus say 'believe in yourself,' they mean delude yourself. But it works. Belief can make things happen, often by overriding caution and common sense. But the sacred status of belief in the self-help genre is probably because it is often wrongly credited for poorly analysed triumphs. Much touted evidence of the glory of belief is pure nonsense. The most famous proof is in fact a poor assessment of a simple phenomenon.

In late April, Sabastian Sawe from Kenya ran a 42km marathon under two hours. It was the first time an observed human achieved the feat without the assistance of favourable wind or any banned running aid.

The sub-two-hour marathon was one of the most famous sports barriers that was, i...