Re: virus: Bastard Son of Virus

Dave Pape (davepape@dial.pipex.com)
Sun, 16 Feb 1997 18:34:31 GMT


At 12:30 14/02/97 -0800, Tim wrote:

>On Mon, 10 Feb 1997, Peter Charlot wrote:
>
>(clip)
>> In turn these meta-memes interact as distinct individuals with
>> other meta-memes, forming ever larger groups until there exists the single
>> homo-sapien "consciousness" who looks out across the universe wondering if
>> there is an inter-stellar E-mail group it could correspond with.
>
>Interesting. I was thinking the other day, that one could view a
>newsgroup as an analog to a personality. Both being made up of competing
>and complimentary parts working together (most of the time, but not
>without internal conflicts cropping up). Sort of a meta-system of
>personalities. If this is true, we should be able to shed light on the
>interactions of memes and meta-memes within individuals by studying the way
>people move from newsgroup to newsgroup and the factors that influence
>their decisions to post or lurk.
>
>Thoughts?

To please Tim, I'll replace all instances of the word "meme" with the word
"underpant", which is a poetic and beautiful word.

I think you can view ANY SOCIAL GROUP as such an analog. I think that any
social group in disagreement is processing underpants in an analogous way to
a mind in doubt.

Now then...

>...competing and complimentary parts working together (most of the time,
but not >without internal conflicts cropping up).

I don't believe there's any such thing as a personality or group without
conflict, because I think that conflict is when competing underpants vie for
control of underpantic processing resource- in either an individual or a group.

"Meta-system of personalities" is very much in agreement with my view...
personalities being, in effect, huge seething piles of underpants, then the
constructs which emerge from the interaction of these underpants will look
like meta-, amorphous and widely distributed personalities.

Dave Pape
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