Urban Legends

From: jrr7@cornell.edu (Jonathan Rynd)
Newsgroups: alt.memetics
Subject: Urban Legends
Date: 20 Sep 1994 23:17:29 GMT

Just came from browsing alt.legends.suburban and was wondering...
What is it that makes urban legends so infectious?
They're obviously a species of meme. But why?

From: nv91-asa@black15.nada.kth.se (Anders Sandberg)
Newsgroups: alt.memetics
Subject: Re: Urban Legends
Date: 21 Sep 1994 12:53:10 GMT

Jonathan Rynd wrote:
>Just came from browsing alt.legends.suburban and was wondering...
>What is it that makes urban legends so infectious?
>They're obviously a species of meme. But why?

I think they parasite on other memes and emotions, mainly prejudices
and everyday fears. For example the "Rat-Meat in the Pizza" meme
is supported by the fact that most people feel uncomfortable with
additives to food, have a mild xenophobia and constantly worries about
what they are eating.

From a purely memetic standpoint urban legends are survivor memes because
they are easily retold, can survive many mutations, they often seem like
warnings and are thus passed along, not to mention their interest value
(a person can often gain attention by retelling it, a powerful incentive
to spread the meme). 

I think they can be seen as the urban version of folk tales, filling about
the same function. 
--
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Anders Sandberg                                      Towards Ascension!
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