virus: MEME UPDATE #7: Subliminal Meming

Richard Brodie (RBrodie@brodietech.com)
Wed, 7 May 1997 12:05:26 -0700


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************************************************************
This is Richard Brodie's Meme Update Newsletter. To
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When you find yourself hungry for more information about memetics,
you'll want to visit Meme Central. Meme Central is your FREE web site
for all the latest memetics books, links, and more! Visit Meme Central
at http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/meme.htm.

You can order books mentioned here and others through the Amazon.com
Memetics Bookstore at http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/books.htm.

Richard Brodie is the author of the first and best-selling book on
memetics, VIRUS OF THE MIND. VIRUS OF THE MIND is in its third printing
and spent over six months on the Amazon.com best-seller list! Start
reading VIRUS OF THE MIND on-line, for FREE, at
http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/votm.htm.
************************************************************

SUBLIMINAL MEMING

I'm noticing more and more use of "subliminal meming" these days.
Subliminal meming is a phrase I coined to describe the technique of
slipping memes into people's minds covertly, woven into a seemingly
innocent presentation. Subliminal meming is a kind of Trojan Horse, the
kind I discuss in my book VIRUS OF THE MIND if you discover that
reading my book is something you want to do.

It's the kind of topic that, when you hear about it, once you become
comfortable that it's really happening, you just want to put everything
else aside and try to get a clear picture of what's going on. For
instance, I started by discovering the Neuro-Linguistic Programming
(NLP) community and their idea of "embedded commands" (see Chapter 7 of
VIRUS OF THE MIND, "How We Get Programmed"). Then I started to tie in
the idea of subliminal advertising (see book review below).

Finally, I got a call from a fellow named Ross Jeffries who wanted to
order several dozen copies of VIRUS OF THE MIND and wanted to know if
he could get a discount (yes). Being curious, I asked why he wanted so
many copies. He told me he wanted to buy copies for all the students
attending his top-level week-long seminar in the Bahamas. "You have a
seminar on memetics?" I asked, incredulous. "Not exactly," he said, and
suggested I check out his web site, http://www.seduction.com. Ross
Jeffries teaches men how to seduce women using subliminal meming. He is
clearly a controversial character. Look for him on talk shows. They
love controversy.

GREAT THANKS FOR SMALL FAVORS DEPARTMENT

>From the terms & conditions of Alaska Airlines lowest economy fare:
------------------------------------------------------------
CANCELLATIONS

ANY TIME
TICKET IS NON-REFUNDABLE.
WAIVED FOR DEATH OF PASSENGER.
------------------------------------------------------------

BOOK REVIEW: THE AGE OF MANIPULATION

The Age of Manipulation: The Con in Confidence, the Sin in Sincere
Wilson Brian Key
Madison Books (1993)

Dr. Key's fourth book on subliminal advertising is worth the purchase
price just for the pictures: liquor ads with blatantly obvious erect
penises drawn into the stream of pouring gin, "sex" airbrushed into
practically everywhere, and even a McDonalds ad with a hand dipping an
unforgivably phallic "Chicken Tender" into sauce.

Key hypothesizes that the male homosexual taboo is at play in many of
these ads. When we perceive these images subliminally but repress them,
he says, it creates an irrational attraction to the advertisement. He
showed some of these ads to Inuits, almost all of whom saw the penises
immediately and burst out laughing. Americans only saw the images
immediately 5% of the time.

Although Key doesn't use the word "meme," he is thinking along the
memetic paradigm as he uses Madison Avenue's sneaky tactics to
enlighten readers about the vulnerable nature of their minds. A well
written and erudite book.

Click to order from the Amazon.com Memetics Bookstore:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0818186538/memecentralA/

MEMETIC HACKING DEPARTMENT

[Thanks to Mike Koss, who found this little bit of memetic hacking in
Scott Adams's newsletter]

Naked Pictures On Dilbert Zone Web Site
---------------------------------------

Pranksters recently hacked into the United Media web site, home
of the Dilbert Zone, and replaced Dilbert graphics with pictures
of naked women. I was shocked and offended. The pictures were
quickly removed, but there's no guarantee that it won't happen again.
There's a good chance that sometime soon you might find more
incredibly clear, sexually stimulating pictures of naked people
on the Dilbert Zone web site at www.unitedmedia.com
If that happens, believe me, I'll be plenty mad.

EVENTS

Richard Brodie delivers keynote and other addresses for a variety of
private and public audiences. If you are interested in having Richard
Brodie speak to your group, please call his office at 425-688-8600.

The following events are open to the public:

July 3-6, 1997
Richard Brodie will be a speaker and panelist at Westercon 50, the West
Coast Science Fiction Convention, in Seattle.
http://www.isomedia.com/Westercon/

September 18, 1997
Richard Brodie will speak as part of the 1997 Speaker Series on
"creating a culture of meaning" at the Center for the Evolution of
Culture in Palo Alto, California from 8-9:30 p.m. including Q&A. For
tickets and information, contact the Foundation for Global Community at
415-328-7756. http://www.globalcommunity.org

All the best memes,

Richard

Richard Brodie RBrodie@brodietech.com +1.425.688.8600
CEO, Brodie Technology Group, Inc., Bellevue, WA, USA
http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie
Do you know what a "meme" is?
http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/meme.htm

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