Re: virus: TT and Absolute Truth

David McFadzean (david@lucifer.com)
Wed, 13 Nov 1996 18:57:21 -0700


At 02:24 PM 13/11/96 -0800, Tadeusz Niwinski wrote:
>exists independent of ALL of us. In other words, if the Earth blows up
and all
>humans, books, DNA, and even the internet are torn to tiny pieces the
world (or
>the universe) will still exist. Will memes still exist? Will "statements"
>still exist? (David McF: I don't have your answer on this -- have I missed it
>or you haven't replied?).

There are different kinds of statements: active (residing in an intentional
agent) and dormant (residing in an artifact like a book or a floppy disk),
human and alien, actual and potential.

In your scenario all actual, human, active and dormant statements will
cease to exist. Others kinds may exist elsewhere after the earth has
been destroyed.

>Are memes conscious-dependent, or they are like angels: freely flying their
>immaterial little bodies through the universe?...

Active memes are conscious-dependent, dormant memes aren't.

>In other words: if we really understand memetics, we should be able to answer
>this basic question: if we disinfected the Earth from all memes (by
>*thoroughly* blowing it up) will memes still exist?

What about alien civilizations?

>Do memes *need* life in order to exist -- or *they* create life?!

Life existed before memes. Consciousness didn't.

--
David McFadzean                 david@lucifer.com
Memetic Engineer                http://www.lucifer.com/~david/
Church of Virus                 http://www.lucifer.com/virus/