Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!ncar!noao!arizona!naucse!kds
From: kds@naucse.UUCP (Kevin Strietzel)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: American words - viruses
Message-ID: <636@naucse.UUCP>
Date: 12 Apr 88 01:33:05 GMT
References: <0WMDNgy00XcL49k06V@andrew.cmu.edu>
Organization: Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ
Lines: 40
Summary: memetics

In article <0WMDNgy00XcL49k06V@andrew.cmu.edu>, jl3j+@andrew.cmu.edu (John Robert Leavitt) writes:
> Actually, the perversion of language would make a pretty good parallel for
> computer viruses.
  .....
> The spooky part is when something
> equivalent to the Aldus virus occurs (such as the way the kids talked in the
> TV show "Square Pegs" a few years ago, or the Frank Zappa song, "Valley Girl").
> It spreads like wildfire then.
> virus burns itself out.  Just a thought... (convergence of topics?  dialectic
> darwinism?  gaaah...:-)

	Memetics!

>                                        -John.
> | US-Snail: 5115 Margaret Morrison Street | "And for you, Elric, there is  |
> |           Box 810, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 |  less reward than the rest may |
> | E-Mail:   jl3j@andrew.cmu.edu           |  hope for."                    |
> | Phone:    (412) 268-4260                |         -Elric of Melnibone    |

Sounds to me like "memetics", which is meant to sound like "genetics".  It's
the study of "memes": units of information that manage to get themselves copied
and spread, rather like genes.

Current memes are such things as "Catholic priests are supposed to be celibate"
and the fear of AIDS and so on.

Some memes spread like wild fire (like Valley Girl talk) and such.  Others just
seem to die out.  But the fun part is that some of them seem to spread just
like disease epidemics: the grow fast and then taper off, like the Plague.

Anyway, theoretically it seems like we could fairly accurately predict the
spread of ideas.  This would make for extremely effective advertising and the
like.  And perhaps very effective control of the population as a whole....

Very, very interesting.  By the way, I hope I got this right.  It's been a
while since I read about it.
-- 
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Kevin (So What If I'm Just a Student) Strietzel			       |
| {... | allegra | ihnp4 | ...}!arizona!naucse!kds		               |
| "It's easy to pass the buck - especially to someone who wants it!"  -- me    |