Re: virus: beauty meme

Sodom (sodom@ma.ultranet.com)
Wed, 29 Apr 1998 10:34:25 -0400


Thanks Robin, I suppose in number 2 I was attempting to identify the
most dangerous sources of infection - peer pressure? Television
advertising, Mom etc... I do think that being aware is the main issue,
but as i am childless at the moment, i dont know how children perceive
the concept of "aware". Children in my experience are somewhat gullible,
and to teach awareness with teaching distrust has got to be difficult.

Sodom

Robin Faichney wrote:

> Sodom writes
> >Anyway, I could use help with three things:
> >
> >1> defining the meme
> >2> Identifying the sources and outlets for the meme
> >3> Innoculating against the mem (assuming I start from birth)
>
> 1> I think you've done a fairly good job here. Which is not
> to say that it could not be further refined.
>
> 2> Not sure what this means. Sources? Outlets? Memes don't
> come from or go to anywhere in particular, they just exist
> within the meme-pool.
>
> 3> Seems to me awareness is always the biggest single factor.
> Awareness of how advertisers and politicians try to manipulate
> us (and very often succeed) has to be the best tool in
> preventing such manipulation.
>
> BTW, it may or may not be worth mentioning, I think that such
> awareness is by the far the most important thing memetics can
> do, and I don't think it needs to be particularly scientific in
> order to do it.
> --
> Robin