<i>the physical manifestation of that idol&#x2F;miracle doesn&#x27;t prove the praying was the cause of the effect&#x2F;idol&#x2F;miracle</i><p>Interestingly enough, if enough people &quot;pray&quot; in the form of demanding these products through the marketplace, then yes actually it can cause an actual product to be developed. See: Oculus. It might be expensive but damnit there it is. So I think this actually weakens your argument.<p>I can&#x27;t in my mind compare techno-optimism with religious behavior it&#x27;s way too different.<p>The self driving car as a technology actually physically works. Sebastian Thrun proved that back in 2001 and google has been proving it over the last 5 years.<p>There is no possible way to prove - or disprove for that matter - that your Prayer had anything to do with your uncle&#x2F;grandmother&#x2F;wife&#x27;s cancer going into remission.<p>Those are infinitely different things.<p>I think you are turning some people&#x27;s hyperbolic exuberance into something more than it is. Just like people say &quot;everyone loves X&quot; or &quot;everyone is going to want to X.&quot;