Re: RE[2]: virus: Hosts

David McFadzean (david@kumo.com)
Mon, 14 Oct 1996 13:47:49 -0600

At 05:56 PM 13/10/96 EDT, KMO prime wrote:
>On what basis do memes compete with one another? Human brains seem to
>have finite storage capacity, so there would seem to be competition
>between memes for this limited resource, but that would seem to pit all
>memes against each other equally in a memetic free-for-all. That
>doesn't seem to be the case. Some memes facilitate the propagation of
>some memes and hinder the propagation of others, i.e. there seems to be
>some memetic mechanisms which give rise to compatibility/incompatibility
>relationships between memes, but I have no idea what those mechanisms
>are.

Contradictory memes only have problems co-existing in an environment
which is ruled by the "logical compatibility" meme. The idea of non-
contradiction has become so entrenched in my personal belief system
that I often forget that it is a relatively recent addition (within
the last 5 years or so) and apparently hold little sway in the meme-
spaces of most people.

Even people who host the logic meme for the most part of their daily
lives can simultaneouly host a theistic meme with the addition of
one other meme, a sort of escape clause: God is beyond (outside of,
above) logic. This simple addition makes their religious beliefs
immune to any and all rational arguments so it is hardly surprising
to find it is quite pervasive in our culture.

--
David McFadzean                 david@kumo.com
Memetic Engineer                http://www.kumo.com/~david/
Kumo Software Corp.             http://www.kumo.com