Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote:
Misunderstandings and neglect occasion more mischief in the world than even malice and wickedness. At all events, the two latter are of less frequent occurrence.
There is a lot of truth in Goethe's remark. But a list of sources of conflicts couldn't be complete without imagination. We all know that imagination can create fear. From there, there is only a small step to say that imagination can cause conflicts. A confirmation seems to come from an unlikely place - Afghan schoolgirls.
From Slashdot:
A number of incidents at schools in Afghanistan, especially girls' schools, have been attributed to poisoning by the Taliban. The World Health Organization has investigated 32 of them but found no poison. "Mass Psychological Illness is the most probable cause," they conclude, the Telegraph reports. The Taliban has consistently denied poisoning schools and have even consented to allow the education of girls in a deal with the government which allows significant Taliban control over the curriculum.