Appeasing the Mountain God

Sherpas insist on appeasing the mountain because they think that if they don’t it is going to get angry and kill everybody.

and if it does get angry, in spite of the appeasement, they will attribute that to insufficient or not so sincere prayers.

what they should believe are the laws of nature that work every time

what they should disbelieve is that mountains get angry for a reason 

What they should believe is that avalanches and high winds and blizzards are perfectly natural phenomena, and that they have a perfectly sound and convincing scientific argument that obeys the simplest laws of physics

what they should disbelieve is that a mountain has the consciousness and a will and the ability to accept bribes in the form of appeasement.

yet, they choose to suspend their disbelief in that. 

On purpose.

knowingly and willingly.

How is the human brain capable of that?

it does explain a lot of things, if you think about it.