Re: virus: Open Mind and Emotions

David Kennerly (davekennerly@tcsn.net)
Wed, 26 Mar 1997 15:39:56 -0800


> Martz wrote:
> >Tim's just said it all. Memes. Whatever method Hitler used would fit the
> >bill, I'm sure.
>
> A serious question. What is a difference between saying that Memes
control
> us or that Spirits control us? (I mean the angel-devil spirits, not fine
> cognac spirits). They are both immaterial, some people claim their minds
> are visited by God/Angels/Devils, some people claim their minds host
Level-3
> memes. In both cases there is nothing observable except what the
possessed
> person says and does. Lech Walesa (a Nobel prize recipient) used to talk
to
> God every morning and he had pretty good insights and excellent results
too
> (he is said to be a Level-3 person, just like Einstein, John Gray, and a
few
> people from Seattle).
>
> Can anybody point out any differences between a concept of being
controlled
> by Memes or Spirits?

The difference would be a matter of self-empowerment and rational view. If
it is Spirits, then the connotation is a super-worldly being of power, with
all kinds of mystic attachments. The meme meme is a step down from
mystification. It is an attempt to take the spice, flavor, furvor out of
the explanation of personal influence by memes. In this regard it makes
poor poetry, but perhaps good understanding. This understanding may
unleash better technology. A better technology of social ideologies. It
may allow the person who looked to deities and seers to turn to Science and
scientists... and for many self-empowering agnostics, it allows a
perspective from which to increase their own memetic influence.

Dave Kennerly
memetic imagineer