virus: a tangent

Kirt A. Dankmyer -- aka Loki (dankmyka@wfu.edu)
Tue, 18 Mar 1997 09:02:31 -0500

>>Given that such memetic immune systems exist, how would one construct a
>>meme to damage the action of the immune system, making someone somewhat
>>more open-minded? (Mo, this is not a sneaking question about how to
>>convince Objectivists they're wrong...)
>
>Beware. Memetic AIDS.

This is actually what I was thinking, but I didn't want to say that. Some
people find the "infection" metaphore nasty enough as it is.

The thing is, many "immune systems" are different -- i.e. Objectivism as
opposed to, say, Catholicism. I'm not sure there's a memetic AIDS capable
of affecting the devout Catholic and the devout Wiccan in the same breath,
as it were. (Disclaimer: Not that there's anything wrong with being a
devout Catholic, Wiccan, an Objectivist, a Discordian, or a cow. The
problem is getting hidebound and dogmatic...)
-Loki

--
Kirt A. Dankmyer <dankmyka@wfu.edu> --- Academic Computing Specialist
http://www.wfu.edu/~dankmyka/ -- (910) 759-4202 -- PGP public key available.
For the Snark _was_ a Boojum, you see. --Lewis Carroll