Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id VAA07149 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Sun, 10 Feb 2002 21:38:26 GMT Message-ID: <002a01c1b282$79508fe0$5e2ffea9@oemcomputer> From: "Philip Jonkers" <philipjonkers@prodigy.net> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020210115550.02c7fe70@pop.cogeco.ca> Subject: Re: Memes Meta-Memes and Politics 2 of 3 (1988, updates 2002) Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2002 13:29:57 -0900 Organization: Prodigy Internet Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 X-Mimeole: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Keith:
> Why do these "replicating information patterns" jump from mind to
> mind, sometimes setting off massive, and occasionally dangerous, social
> movements? Memes that are good at inducing those they infect to spread
> them, and ones that are easy to catch, simply become more common. Since
> this is circular reasoning, I need to restate the question. What, in the
> evolutionary prehistory of our race, has predisposed us to be a substrate
> to memes that can harm us?
Memes that have the highest persuasion potential for adoption will dominate
over the less persuasive ones. As long as they don't kill off the hosts too
much it is actually immaterial whether memes are good/useful or bad/harmful.
Philip.
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