virus: Levels

MICHAEL.FULFORD.HD2O@statefarm.com

Jake:
>Perhaps the bodhisatva will come down from the mountain again (is it "level 3"
>or "level 4" up there in the heavens?) and explain that one to us. Do you get
>medals or insignia when you make it to the next higher level? When do you get
>to the "level beyond human"? And will I make it in time for the next
>spaceship?

>I personally don't think it is sanely possible, or even desireable
>to hold and operate on inconsistent world views.

I don't think you're alone in your view. There is already a widely used term in the field of cognitive science for what R.B. desribes as "level 3." That term is "psychosis". From Tabers Medical Dictionary... 

                  Psychosis:  "...this condition is manifest in the behavior,
                  emotional reaction and ideation fo the patient, who fails to
                  mirror reality as it is, reacts erroneously to it, and builds
                  up false concepts regarding it."

"Ideation; "fails to mirror reality"; "builds up false concepts"? Could these descriptions apply to someone who has attained level three?

On the other hand, this definition comes from the same people who in the DSM-IV cite "tardiness" as a cognitive disorder. So, you really have to wonder about their (psychiatric commmunity) motive$.

Also, my intention is not to make any judgement about level 3 theory, but just to make an observation. I'm a new student to memetics and may not have enough immersion at this point to make any valid criticism. I just purchased "Virus Of The Mind" this weekend and am working through that. (When I can get it away from brother--who says he loves it!)

Michael Fulford