Comments on: The Awesome Power of the Human Brain http://blog.locustfork.net/2010/01/the-awesome-power-of-the-human-brain/ A Wide Open Weblog for Big News, the Big Picture Thu, 24 May 2012 14:15:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Glynn Wilson http://blog.locustfork.net/2010/01/the-awesome-power-of-the-human-brain/comment-page-1/#comment-3850 Glynn Wilson Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:48:32 +0000 http://blog.locustfork.net/?p=5950#comment-3850 Even if this scares you a little bit, share it anyway. Perhaps it will be the only time in many people's live when they even get to hear this point of view. Most people live isolated lives when it comes to information. Surely it doesn't hurt too bad to challenge them every once in awhile. Who knows? Maybe it will make a difference... Even if this scares you a little bit, share it anyway.

Perhaps it will be the only time in many people’s live when they even get to hear this point of view.

Most people live isolated lives when it comes to information. Surely it doesn’t hurt too bad to challenge them every once in awhile. Who knows? Maybe it will make a difference…

]]> By: Glynn Wilson http://blog.locustfork.net/2010/01/the-awesome-power-of-the-human-brain/comment-page-1/#comment-3849 Glynn Wilson Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:02:58 +0000 http://blog.locustfork.net/?p=5950#comment-3849 In the end, it all comes down to the awesome power of the human brain to cook up all this information, and tell a story to explain it to everybody else. Opinion leaders, that is, like most of the people online reading this. That's You! This may never trickle all the way down to the poor Black Belt of Alabama, where they don't even know what a computer is, much less a high speed broadband connection. They don't even have dialup. Never seen it. Never experienced it. They get to breath that coal ash air, and drink the TVA water... In the end, it all comes down to the awesome power of the human brain to cook up all this information, and tell a story to explain it to everybody else. Opinion leaders, that is, like most of the people online reading this. That’s You!

This may never trickle all the way down to the poor Black Belt of Alabama, where they don’t even know what a computer is, much less a high speed broadband connection. They don’t even have dialup. Never seen it. Never experienced it.

They get to breath that coal ash air, and drink the TVA water…

]]> By: Glynn Wilson http://blog.locustfork.net/2010/01/the-awesome-power-of-the-human-brain/comment-page-1/#comment-3848 Glynn Wilson Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:23:20 +0000 http://blog.locustfork.net/?p=5950#comment-3848 What I'm looking for is an Internet inoculation or vaccine or cure for the viruses that destroy our ability to solve problems and move forward in positive evolutionary terms to create a better world. One of the ways we can do this is to jump on the destructive meme when we see it (on the Internet and the Web) and try to stamp it out before it catches on. That's sort of what this column does, don't you think? What I’m looking for is an Internet inoculation or vaccine or cure for the viruses that destroy our ability to solve problems and move forward in positive evolutionary terms to create a better world. One of the ways we can do this is to jump on the destructive meme when we see it (on the Internet and the Web) and try to stamp it out before it catches on.

That’s sort of what this column does, don’t you think?

]]> By: Glynn Wilson http://blog.locustfork.net/2010/01/the-awesome-power-of-the-human-brain/comment-page-1/#comment-3847 Glynn Wilson Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:18:47 +0000 http://blog.locustfork.net/?p=5950#comment-3847 In case you are interested, check out this post on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme" rel="nofollow">memes</a>, defined as "a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena." A few key excerpts: The British scientist Richard Dawkins introduced the word "meme" in the book The Selfish Gene (1976) as a basis for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena. Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), etc... Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance... A field of study called memetics arose in the 1990s to explore the concepts and transmission of memes in terms of an evolutionary model. Some commentators have likened the transmission of memes to the spread of contagions (like viruses). Social contagions such as fads, hysterias and copycat suicides exemplify memes seen as the contagious imitation of ideas. Check out the section on religion. Religions are seen as "particularly tenacious memes..." Then, there is a such thing as an "Internet meme," which refers to a catchphrase or concept that spreads rapidly from person to person via the Internet, largely through Internet-based email, blogs on the Web, forums -- and social networking sites such as Facebook. In case you are interested, check out this post on memes, defined as “a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.”

A few key excerpts:

The British scientist Richard Dawkins introduced the word “meme” in the book The Selfish Gene (1976) as a basis for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena. Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), etc…

Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance…

A field of study called memetics arose in the 1990s to explore the concepts and transmission of memes in terms of an evolutionary model.

Some commentators have likened the transmission of memes to the spread of contagions (like viruses). Social contagions such as fads, hysterias and copycat suicides exemplify memes seen as the contagious imitation of ideas.

Check out the section on religion. Religions are seen as “particularly tenacious memes…”

Then, there is a such thing as an “Internet meme,” which refers to a catchphrase or concept that spreads rapidly from person to person via the Internet, largely through Internet-based email, blogs on the Web, forums — and social networking sites such as Facebook.

]]> By: Glynn Wilson http://blog.locustfork.net/2010/01/the-awesome-power-of-the-human-brain/comment-page-1/#comment-3846 Glynn Wilson Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:44:47 +0000 http://blog.locustfork.net/?p=5950#comment-3846 In case you missed it, this also includes people who are so self-centered and paranoid they think the entire world is out to get them. Here's a clue: It ain't about you... In case you missed it, this also includes people who are so self-centered and paranoid they think the entire world is out to get them. Here’s a clue: It ain’t about you…

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