Re: virus: Hail Virus!

Paul Prestopnik (pjp66259@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu)
Fri, 12 Jun 1998 13:45:31 -0400


Eva-Lise Carlstrom wrote:

> .
> On Fri, 12 Jun 1998, Michal Kulczycki wrote:
>
> Welcome to the list.
>
> > I'm working on an article concerning religions in view of cognitive
> > abilities of specific nations, races - ethnical groups generally speaking.
> > My aim is to prove these things do affect each other, and there maybe a
> > cognitive explanation of some religious phenomens.
>
> Hmmm...I'll comment further on.
>
> > As we all know, meme doesn't 'care' whether it's pollitically correct, nice,
> > easy etc, - he replicates. Those memes which replicate easily win the battle
> > and spread themeselves exponentialy. Right?
>
> Right.
>
> > Such meme influences events just to create a less hostile environment for
> > himself.
> > Meme spreads, culture evolves and so on. AFAIK, please correct me if I am
> > wrong, the 'genetic success' of a meme depends on his 'story'. If it's true,
> > cognitive abilities must affect the ease with which particular memes
> > replicate. Of course, I mean very large scale of such process.
> > Eg. if there is a nation particulary colour-sensitive (fiction) colour-memes
> > will spread more efficient than say sound-memes in such population.
>
> True; genetically determined abilities and tendencies can affect what
> ideas come easily to a person or population. Obviously, a completely
> color-blind population will not readily develop color-related traditions,
> but it is possible they would adopt them if the ideas were introduced by
> another population that did have color vision.

Has anyone read _Island of the Colorblind._ I myself have not, but I believe it
is a case study by the psychologist Oliver Sack on an island in which everyone (or
a large majority) is colorblind. A study of the memes common on this island could
certainly lend credence to your theories.
-Paul Prestopnik