Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id NAA00903 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Thu, 31 May 2001 13:16:22 +0100 Message-ID: <3B163541.F6F3F1AE@bioinf.man.ac.uk> Date: Thu, 31 May 2001 13:12:49 +0100 From: Chris Taylor <Christopher.Taylor@man.ac.uk> Organization: University of Manchester X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.77 [en] (Windows NT 5.0; U) X-Accept-Language: en To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: Re: Email virus spreads memetically References: <20010531114711.AAA18238@camailp.harvard.edu@[205.240.180.116]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> Because, yes, I view chain mail propagation as a mark of gullibility.
Yeah - there are certainly some 'hard-of-everything' types out there (I
have known people who have bought things because the label said
'quality' in what was to me a simple trademark (e.g. 'Quality Clothing
Ltd.' etc.).
However, some of this (especially for chain letters) is fear, akin to
the kinds of secret wagers kids engage in (e.g. if I don't beat that car
past that street light, my whole family will die etc. etc.). Chain
letters either (a) scare you (as the kid does itself) with something you
don't know, so hey, why not comply because the effort of compliance is
far outweighed by the 'risk' - there's a good tradeoff to study - how
easy to do, versus how scary not to do; (b) do you a favour that you'd
want to for do others; (c) appeal to your greed (pyramid schemes).
Religions go for (a) and (b) mostly, plus peer pressure. Actually
Jehovahs go for (c) - recruit to make it to heaven, with an all-time
hall of fame.
Ignorance is fear, and fear is very useful, so I don't hate these
people; we just need Symantec to start warning us about culture (seeing
as we didn't believe Hume, Kant, Marshall McLuhan (spelled..?), blah
blah blah).
I think it all comes back to one principle: Something is better than
nothing.
In organic life, after mass extinctions, you see the biggest bursts of
novelty because there are so many gaps in the market that any old thing
can make a living, so the most unlikely organisms survive (whoever wrote
'survival of the fittest' soundbit all the meaning out of evolution -
the real rule is 'survival of the *fit enough*'). In a mind, any
explanation will do if it's the best on offer, be it (mis)interpretation
of visual cues, or rationalising weird shit; our brains just stick with
the best so far.
So in comes religion with it's half-arsed worldview, but a helluva son
et lumiere...
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Chris Taylor (chris@bioinf.man.ac.uk)
http://bioinf.man.ac.uk/ »people»chris
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