Re: virus: The "science" of memes? The Red Queen Problem?

Alexander Williams (thantos@alf.dec.com)
Thu, 26 Dec 1996 22:16:44 -0500


Eva-Lise Carlstrom wrote:
> I don't want to play croquet with the Red Queen; the mallets, balls, and
> hoops move around to much for my taste, and if I do well she's liable to
> have me beheaded anyway.

Could this be the sociological implication of the Red Queen problem as
seen in Artificial Intelligence research or am I tired, at work and
over-medicated on Actifid?

No, its the Red Queen problem. Actually, this does have memetic
implication: the very philosophy/paradigm/science (take your pick) of
memetics tends to shift the `goal line' pretty extensively on every
iteration of analysis, and individually based on disputant. This
contrary to the public face of most major religions; could the
difference in presentation (and the lack of problem we seem to have with
it as a disputant group, cheerfully and openly sharing `how we see
things' without much urge to /convince/ but more to `communicate
freely') impair the Church of Virus in spreading through the population
at large?

-- 
   Alexander Williams {thantos@alf.dec.com / zander@photobooks.com}
  Prefect of the 8,000,000th Terran Overlord Government Experimental
      Strike Legion, Primary Transport TOG "Bellatores Inquieti"
======================================================================
   You ride in 250 tons of molecularly aligned crystalline titanium
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missiles, a Vulcan IV point defense anti-missile system, and a
deadly assortment of other equally lethal weapons.
   Your vehicle is the ultimate product of 4,000 years of armored
warfare.
   Your life expectancy is less than two minutes.
					-- RENEGADE LEGION:
					   CENTURION