virus: Re: sociological change

Ken Pantheists (kenpan@axionet.com)
Sun, 22 Dec 1996 23:55:18 +0000


Alex wrote:

I would perceive those as animals attempting to enter /our/ culture
through the creation of a `conduit' from their meme-biospheres (minds)
to ours (see the earlier posts on `conduit theory' and that whole
debate). Those examples, in themselves, say nothing about native
cultures, if you will.
********************************************************************

Sorry, I should have tagged this on the previous message. I didn't twig
on it until after I pressed "send".

Eva is our conduit theory expert, but my take on it is that the theory
doesn't allow for the meme to exist outside the head of the reader, say
on paper or on a cave wall, but that it is created in the head of the
person due to all of the influences mentioned in the previous post.

Even if a dolphin could create an artifact, maybe it could be coaxed to
dab paint on a canvas- that artifact will have little power to infect
us. In fact, the exact opposite is happening. The dolphin, which has no
business painting on canvas is being infected by us-- painting for fish
and applause. We thrill to the display because of what paint and canvas
means to *us*. It is a fetish of intelligence.

-- 
Regards
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
  Ken Pantheists                    
http://www.lucifer.com/~kenpan           
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+