Re: virus: Good idea

Lior Golgher (efraim_g@netvision.net.il)
Tue, 04 Feb 1997 23:47:09 -0800


Dave Pape wrote:
[CLIP]
I take what I hope is a memetic definition of "good idea": a meme which
is
very effective at getting a stake in many people's mental processing
resource. Thus the large-scale meme "Judaism" is a "good idea", because
it's got a decent stake in a great many minds.
----
I wrote:
On the same manner, a 'good mutation' increases the number of the meme's
hosts. Thus both "Christianity" and "Islam" are 'good mutations' of the
meme "Judaism", right?
When those mutations would evolve to a certain phase in which they would
promote the eradication of their original ancestor, they'd remain
"good", right?
----------

Dave Pape wrote:
I've GOT to be tough on this one, Lior. Sorry, I think this'll make you
my
social enemy, because the memes I'll transmit here will irritate the
memetic
structure in you headspace to fire a large volley of aggressive memes at
me.
But what the heck.

Number 1, I'm not anti-semitic.

Number 2, I'm not Christian.
----
Have the politically-correct censorship got so active you must post such
an intro before making any point?

BUT: By whatever means, if a meme shall propagate itself effectively
throughout the totality of memetic processing space, then it is an
effective
meme. A "good" meme, in my terms. I don't mean a meme with which I feel
a
moral affinity; /that/ definition of "good" is always subjective. I mean
a
meme which conforms in effect to the specification of Meme, which is a
cognitive construct which reproduces and spreads throughout the
cognitive
processing environment of All Human Minds.

So, if I say that memes which co-opt cognitive processing source by
means
which I find repulsive (killing lots of people and using their physical
resources to raise people who think like you) are still "good" memes,
you'll
understand what I mean. Like the gene for "compete with thy neighbour"
is a
good gene, since almost everyone seems to have it.
----
Once the propagation's effectiveness (as described in your post) is the
aim, the morality you describe is correct. It's good that you don't try
to manipulate it according to your subjective moral affinity. BTW -
That's NOT a concrete basis for racist\fanatic idealogies. Those would
require massive distortion of it towards social logic.

I'd end my response now, as it's quite hard to concentrate when you've
got atleast 70 people dead and an idiot Prime Minister.

Lior.