> Hi,
Paul Prestopnik <pjp66259@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu> wrote:> I still think the
two tiered system is best, that way we can have<snip>> on. (what
exactly is going on anyway?) I'm not sure how this would> be different
than the lower level, but maybe some of the more>difficult concepts,
mathematical proofs, more scientific ideas, and> less palatable ideas
could be introduced at this level.
> I disagree -- this sounds so bad, I'm surprised you can even think it might
> be a good idea.
>
> It is precisely the multiple levels of Scientology that make it so evil --
> the suck you in with simple, common sense stuff, and then at the higher
> levels reveal the "less palatable" ideas. I think virion should be an open
> system -- everything we promote should be
> open to the public, and there are no "real" secrets. (it is possible that
> we could *use* the idea of secrets as a memetic ploy to attract attention
> -- having gotten members this way, we then inform them there is no secret,
> and thus show how effective a hook "secret" is!)
>
> ERiC
Hmm, I didn't imply hiding anything. I agree that everything should be open. I
didn't mean to suggest that we would lie or in anyway mislead new members. I
just feel that there is more information associated with memes and with the
church than most people need to know. I guess this all returns to what our
purpose is. I have always felt (I could very well be mistaken here), that the
purposes of the CoV included, but were not limited too: 1) Increasing the publics
understanding of memetics and 2) Increasing our own personal understanding of
memetics along with advancing the study of memetics. A third goal or byproduct
of goal (1) would (hopefully) be increased the happiness and fullfillment of the
population at large.
To fulfill these goals we need (1) to increase our membership, and (2) to
educate our members. I felt that a two tiered system would best allow people of
all education levels and interests to feel included and to help spread our
ideas. I think the most accurate representation of what I meant was when you
said we would use the idea of a secret as a hook. That is one reason why I
wanted the two tiered system, and the quiz. I certainly did not want to make the
quiz hard. I figured maybe a question about dawkins, and some defintions about
memes. Stuff that could all be gotton from the CoV web page.
If you look back at my post you'll see that I did not really see too much how
the second tier would be that much different. Mostly I figured it could be for
people who wanted to be more involved, and/or who wanted to seriously study
memetics. What I meant by less palatible ideas was simply that if we wanted to
atrract people to our charge we should not be overly blunt about our unpopular
beliefs. I don't mean hide anything, just that we should refrain from attacking
peoples cherished beliefs. This will only turn them away. Scientology may not
necessairly be a "good" belief system, but it is a good meme. We need to mimic
the aspects of it that make it a good meme so long as they do not destroy our
original purpose (as soon as we figure out what that is.)