Re: virus: Rationality

Tony Hindle (t.hindle@joney.demon.co.uk)
Fri, 28 Feb 1997 07:34:53 +0000


I wrote:
>>Science creates memes that I believe will eventually spread better
>>than any other memes (I am an optimist) because they can be used to
>>make correct predictions about the world
>.
>
Richard Brodie responded
>But Tony, what makes you think that making correct predictions about the
>world has anything to do with meme propagation?

I believe memes that allow us to make correct predictions
about the world will eventually dominate because they can be
reality tested. Historically this has always been the case
(although I grant you it has been an incredibly slow process with
temporary reversals.) There is no more a powerful way a meme can
get into someone's mind than if it allows them to test it and see
for themselves that it works (or is "an objective truth").
The whole paradigm of memetics will ultimately fuel this
process because people will become more aware of how their own
memes may be someone else's excrement. The only way to check will
be to test them against observed reality.
>

Tony Hindle.