Explanation of the concept of the Meme

It was Zoologist Richard Dawkins who first developed the concept of the Meme:

A meme is (non-specifically) like a gene but is cultural rather than biological.... Genes replicate themselves in physical bodies (biological); memes on the other hand are purely cultural and replicate themselves in physical brains (philosophical and psychological).

All memes are created through metaphorical and analogical information - meaning: all memes are created through information that is language referenced.

The replicating power of ALL memes is human language; without human language memes would be impossible.

Memes can be singular or complex:

An individual meme is simply a single unit of knowledge such as for example; the Aristotelean axiom "A is A"

A complex meme is an amalgamation of memes into a complex structure such as Einstein's Theory of Relativity.

Memes, more than anything else effect mankind's thinking patterns both individually and culturally. Individually in the short term, and culturally over many individuals in the long term.

Memes are the pattern makers of man's history just as genes are the pattern makers of man's biology. One can think of the way memes spread from individual to individual in much the same way that computer viruses spread from computer to computer.

A computer virus is a program written specifically to embed and integrate itself into your computers files. Some viruses are pretty harmless; on the other hand the most malevolent viruses cost companies millions every year.

But what about the meme virus.... How damaging can that be?

The fact is that memes can be good or bad, constructive or destructive to the mind.

A Complex Constructive Meme

An example of a Constructive Complex Meme is Einstein's Theory of Relativity. This is a constructive meme because it is none mystical in construction and is an integration of aspects of reality through the scientific method... A discipline that requires rigorous controls and adherence to the laws of physics.

Another example of a Constructive Complex Meme is Darwin's Theory of Evolution. In fact Darwin's Evolutionary Theory is perhaps the most convincing of all scientific theories. The evidence for Evolutionary Theory is now so stacked in its favor that it is almost certainly correct.

Still another example of a Constructive Complex Meme is Quantum Physics; the behavior of very small particles. It is an aspect of reality that is the opposite end of the scientific spectrum to that of Einstein's theories. Einstein investigated with the very big such as the motions of planets and stars and the "Fabric of Space Time". Niels Bohr, on the other hand investigated the tiny World of the Quantum... The behavior of sub atomic particles.

A Complex Destructive Meme

An example of a destructive Meme is any mind spun inner logic that de-constructs reality and poisons the mind with mysticism. The most pervasive and destructive Complex Destructive Meme throughout man's history has been religion.

All religions are as destructive to the mind as the most pernicious computer viruses. In fact if we continue with the computer analogy and think of the human brain in computational terms (of course this is not a perfect analogy, but for this purpose it will suffice) then we can see how bad programs (software) corrupt computers (hardware). So, drawing further on this analogy we could say that religion is corrupt software that gets loaded to the hard drive or brain.

An example of a destructive meme can be found in the Christian concept of mercy... A destructive anti-man concept; mercy leads to sacrificing oneself to a "higher cause" in this case God.

Christianity like all religions is a complex meme because it is full of complex concepts such as guilt and original sin.

Religion is at its most destructive and pernicious in its fundamental form.... As an example are the anti-science creationists who befuddle the minds of their followers with mystical memes, which claim to hold a monopoly on the truth, but in fact are a regression backwards; the antithesis of science and a regress into pseudoscience.

Thoughts

All learning begins with a thought and every man made object in the world began with a thought. All good actions begin with a thought; all bad actions begin with a thought. All thoughts are software programs and all thought programs are loaded into hard-wired brains. Depending on your point of view you may argue that Einstein's ideas were based on good software programming, and Hitler's ideas were based on bad software programming.

Software and Hardware?

Is it apt to talk about thoughts and brains in terms of software and hardware? Although thoughts differ markedly from computer programs and likewise brains differ markedly from computers still, the analogy is quite strong. One thing a computer cannot do, that a man can, however, is make choices. A computer cannot decide which software programs to load up to its hard-drive.

Bicameral and Modern Man

Bicameral animal man was a little like the no choice computer, in not having any choice in the software program uploaded to his hard-wired brain. Modern man should not suffer from this malady, yet he does.

Why? Because, by and large, most men and women are not in control or have ownership of their own software programs. Rather, the software programs they upload to their hard-wired brains, are created by second hand operators e.g., politicians, religious leaders, parents, teachers etc.

Computer and Brain

The computer differs in another important way: it is linear in operation, rather than spatial. It "thinks" from the bottom up, it correlates units and builds them into wholes.

The left side of our upper (Neo-Cortex) brain works in much the same way and it is responsible for speech, math, logic, sequences and words among others.

The right side of our upper brain, however, is spatial. It thinks from the top down, it manifests wholes, and breaks them into units. The right side of our upper brain is responsible for patterns, spatiality, music, images and visualization among others.

Brain Programs - Good and Bad

Before we begin on any journey we must know two things:

1. Where we are ?

2. Where we want to be ?

Once we know these answers, we may need something else depending on whether we know where our ultimate destination is or not: we may need a map. It is obvious that the wrong map will not get us to our destination. Brain programs are much like maps; bad programming will not get us there. If you keep using the wrong map you will constantly end up in the wrong place.

Corrupt Programs (bad maps)
The Holy Bible
Plato's Truths
War is a necessary evil

Clean Programs (good maps)
Aristotle's Logic
Unprovoked Force is immoral

Truth v. Honesty

Do you agree with this following statement?

"Einstein's theory of relativity is true, you cannot argue with the truth because it is undeniable."

Or what about this statement?

"Einstein's theory of relatively seems like an honest integration of physical laws, I shall take it on board, but I shall keep an open mind for future scientific models that may better explain the universe. Though it is unlikely that Einstein's theories will ever be totally undermined as they seem to measure up to physical experimentation, I shall never the less keep an open mind to the possibility of a better model".

Which of the above two statements do you agree with?

The first statement is based on static truth, whereas the second statement is based on dynamic honesty.

The reason the truth is static is because it short-circuits the brain into logical left-brain linear thinking, this leads to pigeon holing all ideas. Once you make a statement it gets pigeon holed into the yes or no, do or don't, good or bad boxes. Once in the box it remains there to forever gather dust. An example of a pigeon holed thought is "Death and Taxes are inevitable".

The second statement by contrast is based on dynamic honesty. The reason honesty is dynamic is because it never pigeon holes an idea or thought. Rather, it creates a feedback system.

Notice in the second statement, the open minded approach. This open minded approach belongs to the true thinker. This approach allows for the feedback of later gathered or developed data. By using this approach you have in affect programmed your super computer (brain) to constantly integrate any new or important data that challenges your old ideas, thoughts knowledge or perceptions.

Feedback and Thinking ... A Reciprocal Relationship

Thinking is a reciprocal relationship between thought and feedback. For example, you start to write a book on the impact on modern man of the information/technological revolution, based on what you already know.

As you write down your ideas, more ideas come in the form of feedback. This feedback comes in units where each unit represents a past subconsciously stored thought. It could be an idea, a formula, a summation, a calculation, among many others.

As this feedback comes, the process of thinking continues with you reasoning through each peace or unit of fed-back data. This reasoning is the key to correct thinking.

If you were bought up in an Aristotelian primacy of existence culture, then you will have high regard and respect for the art of reason. If on the other hand, you were brought up in an Platonist culture, then you most likely hold reason with little regard.

Unless you have read one or more honesty programs that have rewired your corrupted hardware (brain) with a clean software program, then it is most likely that you are hard-wired to fail in most areas of your life.

To start to turn the tide in your favor and put you on the road to success, you need to start loading clean software programs, up to your hardware (brain).

Example of a clean software program:

Man is an Island Unto Himself

It matters not where your God comes from, whether you pray at the altar or kneel before the state. In either case your mind has been corrupted with a demon and that demon is an illusion.

As long as that illusion is held up in your mind, you will remain a mystic, forever trapped in a non-world outside the realms of reality.

The only escape from that non-world is through your independent mind ... by identifying the only real and rational God in the universe. That God is your own individual-self and your recognition of your own individual mind.

To set yourself free in a world of irrationality is an act of individual self discovery. It is the most noble act in which you could ever partake... and that discovery is that there are no Gods, Ghosts, Demons, collectives or other mystical entities in the universe.

If there were, the universe would behave outside natural physical laws... in such a world survival would be impossible.

It does not matter whether your religion is Christianity or conservatism, Pope John Paul or the State. Whatever you decide to believe, your decision to follow is surrendering and that surrender is the biggest sin... it is the giving up of your true identity, your sense of self, to a higher cause.

But, that higher cause is an illusion, for there is not, and cannot be, a more important person to an individual than themselves and by sacrificing yourself to a "higher cause" you have given up your true nature, the meaning of what it is to be a human being.

I would argue with the old bromide: "no man is an island". At the last, a man is unto himself alone. No other human being can truly get inside another man's head. We are all independent entities and the average man does not and cannot exist. Every one of us is as different as chalk and cheese and it is this difference that leads us at the last to recognize our own Godship and the mastery of our own self. If we do have a spirit then it is nothing more than our sense of 'I'ness or individuality.

One of the most appalling acts of most religions is to mock this individuality to the point of burying it under a mound of poisonous lies. Once a person accepts such "truths" as facts, it isn't hard for them to become sacrificial lambs and fodder for governmental, religionist or cultist death machines. (In fact, all modern politico and religionist institutions are cults).

We are now well into the technological/information revolution. This is without doubt the most exciting and mind freeing time in man's history. Nothing more quickly sheds the dark shadows of illusion than the rational light of the informed mind.

Such informed minds are growing in number daily and they now have a powerful new tool in their armory ... The World Wide Web.

Rationality is quickly undermining and laying to rest the demons of our past ... we are entering a bright new world of rationality. But in this bright new world, we do not have to dispense with our spirituality as most scientists can testify.

For example, the pursuit of their own scientific goals takes on its own spirituality, and that spirituality comes from identifying the awesomely beautiful real world that has long been hidden behind the mystics' illusionary world.

"When watching men of power in action it must be always kept in mind that, whether they know it or not, their main purpose is the elimination or neutralization of the independent individual - the independent voter, consumer, worker, owner, thinker - and that every device they employ aims at turning men into a manipulate 'animated instrument' which is Aristotle's definition of a slave." (Eric Hoffer).

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