The Theory
In January of 2001 I finished reading “The Meme Machine” by Susan Blackmore. It was about an odd theory written by an author with snow cone colored hair so I didn’t think much of it at the time. But I filed it away, she was a PhD after all and I like to have at least two or three takeaways from every book I read or I feel like I've wasted my time.
Fast forward a few months to September 11th. Like everyone else I couldn’t stop thinking “how could this happen?” How could someone believe in something with such certainty they would kill themselves? That’s what started me thinking but that wasn’t all. There were friends and family who believed in things with little or no evidence and some of our leaders were denying science! What was going on? Then I remembered that odd book I had read a few months earlier. There was this realization that beliefs were memes by another name. Could she be right? Do memes really exists?
A theory isn’t much use unless you can gain some insights, answer questions and solve problems. This blog will be about presenting the evidence, making observations and speculating about how to improve the human condition from this new perspective.
This idea will not appeal to everyone. In fact the theory suggests that most people will reject it out of hand. Therefore I will summarize the theory so you can determine if this is something you would like to follow.
Hijacked By Our Beliefs
If the statement “We are all hijacked by our beliefs” seems absurd, you may want to move on. If on the other hand you find the statement intriguing or even obvious you should enjoy the journey. But be forewarned, your worldview will be upended. Your current beliefs will be challenged. You may feel uncomfortable even angry but the theory will tell you why and isn’t the truth worth it? Pressing the Follow button will be like “taking the red pill.”
“Doubt is not an agreeable condition, but certainty is an absurd one.” – Voltaire
Or don’t. Stay comfortable with your current beliefs, supporting and spreading them knowing with certainty they are correct. Why challenge what gives you so much? “Take the blue pill” and enjoy the illusion. What could go wrong? Reality? Perhaps you don’t realize you just proved the theory.
What will be covered
If you do turn out to be one of the brave souls that decide to follow this blog here is a short list of some of the topics I will be covering:
- There is an epic battle going on right now, a battle for our minds. We need to understand this battle and take control before it’s too late.
- Why is it so difficult for people to change their minds?
- Why are we the only species of hominids left?
- Why are our brains so large?
- Why does language exist and this compulsion to communicate?
- Where do our morals come from?
- Is there Good vs Evil or is that an illusion?
- How do we discover the truth and how will we know when we have?
- Once we understand the actual cause of our problems the solutions become obvious.
- And much more…
A Partial List of the Books and Authors that will be covered:
- “The Meme Machine” by Susan Blackmore
- “The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins
- “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman
- “The Tell-Tale Brain” by V. S. Ramachandran
- “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell
- “The Stuff of Thought” by Steven Pinker
- “Releasing the Bonds” by Steven Hassan
- “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea” by Daniel Dennett
- “Virus of the Mind” by Richard Brodie
- “This is Your Brain on Parasites” by Kathleen McAuliffe
- And much more…
Now you should have a good idea what you’re in for and your reading list. 🙂
I can’t guarantee when or even if you’ll “get it” but if you do it will be like a light switch going off in your head and suddenly everything will make sense. Human behavior, history, war, poverty and inequality. It will be as if you now have a microscope to see things you couldn’t see before that were there all along.
The Takeaway
If there is just one thing you take away from this post it should be this: ”The Truth Matters.” If our beliefs prevent us from seeing the truth we have a serious problem. Let’s recognize the problem and deal with it before it’s too late.
If you are really interested in this theory here’s the first book you should read:
Nice post. Thanks for pointing me towards this. I remember reading a book about memes years ago -- before they became funny pics on instagram -- and have since been interested in the subject. I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on the subject.
I created this blog to explore and expand on the idea with others so any feedback it appreciated. Thanks!
You're welcome