Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id BAA23373 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Thu, 12 Apr 2001 01:36:22 +0100 X-Originating-IP: [209.240.220.143] From: "Scott Chase" <ecphoric@hotmail.com> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: Re: memes- remember them? Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2001 20:32:21 -0400 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Message-ID: <F112ET7ffSsnuvPY2i0000053de@hotmail.com> X-OriginalArrivalTime: 12 Apr 2001 00:32:21.0425 (UTC) FILETIME=[09847210:01C0C2E8] Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>From: Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk>
>Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
>Subject: memes- remember them?
>Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2001 11:10:53 +0100
>
>Hi Everyone,
>
>Came across this piece on my travels over the weekend-
>
>Messina, L & O'Rangers, E (1998) 'Believing the Lie: Meme Theory and the
>Conspiracy Virus in The X-Files', Diegesis, Winter, no.3, pp: 24-33
>
>It's a rather misplaced metaphorical usage of memetics to assess the spread
>of the alien conspiracy idea in the series. Still, it's about memes which
>is more than can be said about recent threads- interesting as they've been.
>
>I may become more of a lurker on the list over the next few weeks (hurrahs
>from the gallery- well the cheap seats anyway), as I'm overladen at work
>having become acting course director of a Master's degree.
>
>Having said this I'm slowly working on a piece intended for publication
>built out of the research paper I gave a couple of months back on memetics
>(which really impressed people on the list- I know this from the lack of a
>single response to its posting! Ah well, I hope to pad it out a bit more
>and
>find something more substantive to say, although again I'll be aiming it at
>the media studies community initially).
>
>On this, does anyone know anything about theories of crowd behaviour,
>particularly early theories on this? A colleague mentioned something about
>this in relation to my presentation, but has cleared off on sabbatical.
>
>
The truth is "out there".
There was a series which aired in the U.S. when I was a kid which I think
was called "Project Blue Book", where there were investigations of "U.F.O."
stuff.
There's been an infiltration of alien intelligence talk into the
creation-evolution debate as some people seem to think that the limitations
of evolutionary theory and home grown abiogenesis imply that some alien(s)
created Earthian life and sent it to Earth in a seeding probe from some
distant planet. There are likely many variant strains of directed panspermy
"out there", just as with any other mind bug. Some strains are more
entertaining than others.
I hardly watch the X-Files, but one season finale episode a couple years
back caught my attention. Scully (if I got her named correct) was intrigued
by something related to some alien spacecraft found on some African beach.
There were panspermic implications if I recall correctly.
Alien conspiracy ideas keep infiltrating the ideosphere. I wonder what seeds
them.
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