>I'm an atheist, but I don't consider my rejection of the "God meme" to
>be a conscious choice, I'm "aware" that, to me, that particular meme
>makes no sense and at whatever subconscious level, I've rejected it. To
>
>emphasize my point : I can't "choose" to believe that 2 + 2 = 5 even if
>
>I wanted to, I just "know" it's wrong. Why then when people are
>presented with a knowledge of history, geography and even anthropology,
>
>the majority still harbour religious memes with only a minority making
>the connection and hence rejecting them?
1. Most people are not concerned much with abstract thoughts. The
majority of Americans are classified as "sensate" rather than
"intuitive" (S vs. N) in the Myers-Briggs scheme. To the degree these
people hold abstract memes in their minds, it is largely a matter of
programming by repetition.
2. The ability to hold dissonant concepts in mind simultaneously; i.e.,
to endure cognitive dissonance, is said to be a mark of genius.
Non-Euclidean geometry, relativity, and other breakthrough thinking
results from this ability.
3. I don't see history, geography, or anthropology as dissonant with
God. How do you? You must realize that most religious people do not
imagine that the Creation myths are scientifically or historically
accurate; they see them as myth or metaphor.
4. The Level-3 mind sees ALL memes as mental programming, as
approximations of reality, as useful girders, pulleys, and cords. The
Level-3 minds realizes that NO meme is True, but all memes in his
arsenal are at his disposal for use when useful. Arguing or despairing
about the truth or untruth of a meme is a Level-2 exercise.
>Richard Brodie RBrodie@brodietech.com +1.206.688.8600
>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
>