Re: virus: Power

Ken Pantheists (kenpan@axionet.com)
Fri, 26 Jul 1996 22:31:54 -0700


KMO wrote:
>
> Overt attempts to regulate "memetic material" come in the forms of
> censorship and copyright protection.

Yes. I couldn't agree with you more. But, again, I'm not talking about
regulating. I suppose the closest analogy I can make is an artist's
manifesto. Manifestos are went out of style with modernism, but there is
value to a group of people getting together and hashing out what moves
them about what they do.

We've already done this in many ways already.

I think it's kind of fun that this is called a "church" of virus, it's
not like other discussion lists. It's smaller and a little more personal
and friendly.

Decentralized systems like the
> internet and, more generally, the info-sphere (sometimes called the
> ideo-sphere or the global meme-pool; I call it the C-Realm, i.e. the Realm
> of Consciousness) treat the blockage as damage and route around it.

I think of the infosphere as very un-sphere-like. i.e. it does not have
the unity of a sphere. It exists because (and in spite of) billions of
private experiences. These experiences are coming closer together
because of electronic media-- kind of like all the insects of the world,
which you don't notice much when they are in the world-- but imagine all
of them in your house. Your suddenly swimming in insects!

Memetics gives you a choice.-- you don't have to let all of the insects
in your house. You have memetic bug screens!

I'm getting way off topic-- let me just say that I agree with what you
say about censorship. But what I'm talking about is exercising
judgement-- good judgement, good self judgement.

Ultimately that's what an ethical choice is, no?

What would you do if you new someone were propogating a meme about you
that you knew to be false?

I'm not talking about a rumour. I'm talking about a whole cultural
attitude about you and those associated with you that said, maybe, you
kidnap children and eat them?

Would you just let that meme through?

-- 
Regards
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Ken Pantheists                         http://www.lucifer.com/~kenpan           
Virus Theatre                     http://www.lucifer.com/virus/theatre
TooBa Physical Theatre Centre http://www.ffa.ucalgary.ca/vca/tooba.htm
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