Re: virus: Fwd: The Laws of Cargo Cult Science

Marie Foster (mfos@ieway.com)
Mon, 20 Oct 1997 08:47:13 -0700

This is a question for Wade. I visited the site in your message which I
have bookmarked. I linked out to a couple of sites. I was taken with
the one on Junk Science. I for one, appreciate knowing that there are
critics out there. I do not have the time or energy to read all the
actual research behind the science that shows up in the popular press on
slow news days. But I did notice that this particular site seemed to
weigh in on the conservative side of the current political divide. I
would expect this, people picking and choosing to support whichever
political persuasion they prefer. Do you think it is a chicken or an
egg kind of thing?

I am still trying to get caught up on memetics literature. I have
wondered about the reason why people have picked a virus analogy to help
explain the phenomena. Perhaps, as with infection, people use defenses
to try to rid themselves of ideas that they perceive as foreign.

I would appreciate your take on this.

Marie