Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id TAA26327 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Wed, 16 Jan 2002 19:17:56 GMT Message-Id: <5.1.0.14.0.20020116141100.02c47ec0@pop.cogeco.ca> X-Sender: hkhenson@pop.cogeco.ca X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.1 Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 14:15:15 -0500 To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk From: Keith Henson <hkhenson@cogeco.ca> Subject: RE: Scientology In-Reply-To: <NEBBKOADILIOKGDJLPMAAEIHCJAA.debivort@umd5.umd.edu> References: <008801c19e57$324af0c0$5c86b2d1@teddace> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
At 12:42 PM 16/01/02 -0500, "Lawrence DeBivort" <debivort@umd5.umd.edu>
wrote:
>Excellent observation, Ted. And not just with regard to 'pathological'
>memes.
>Can a person infected by a meme casually tell the difference between the
>meme and what is 'real'? My gut feeling is that the two may be
>indistinguishable to the person. The content of a well-received meme
>becomes an undistinguishable part of the person's sense of reality.
The pathological cases are more interesting. And to use scientologists as
an example, the ones who have gone that far in the UFO cult really do think
they are infested with thousand of spirits of murdered space aliens and
they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on "auditors" and "e-meters"
scraping them off.
Keith
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