Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id PAA20461 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Wed, 9 Feb 2000 15:53:20 GMT X-Authentication-Warning: poirot.umd.edu: debivort owned process doing -bs Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2000 10:51:53 -0500 (EST) From: "Lawrence H. de Bivort" <debivort@umd5.umd.edu> X-Sender: debivort@poirot.umd.edu To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: Re: Who holds the leash? In-Reply-To: <Pine.WNT.4.21.0002081227120.199-100000@c157775-a.frndl1.wa.home.com> Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.4.21.0002091044110.13950-100000@poirot.umd.edu> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Perhaps not. The meme(s) that led to the group suicide may then be
transmitted to other populations, populations that buy into the meme
because of the strength of the example set by the suicide. Let's say that
the suicide-causing meme is "People are better off dead". The suicide
implicitly asserts that the group has decided that the meme is correct and
is now simply acting on it. Let's say that the population that hears of
the group suicide has available 'meme space' for the meme "People ar
better off dead": they will/may then accept the meme. If this accepting
group is larger than the suicide group, the meme will now be propagated
more widely than it was before the suicide.
The principle behind this is that a meme can be given creditability in
one's eyes when it is acted on by others. The lack of suicide would tend
to undermine the meme.
Lawrence de Bivort
The Memetic Group
On Tue, 8 Feb 2000, TJ Olney wrote:
SNIP
>We have instances where within isolated populations, the memes that people
>have held have caused the genes demise, -- think ritual group suicides. The
>meme tends to die with those genes.
SNIP
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