Exploring the mind landscape
Mohammad Abdul Hai dissects thoughts
26 February 2010, 18:00 PM
Virus of the Mind
Richard Brodie
Hay House, New York
The field of study called Memetics arose in the 1990s to explore the concept of cultural ideas, symbols or practices being transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena. The etymology of the term relates to the Greek word "mimema" which means something imitated. This controversial new field, therefore, makes an elaborate study of the universal human tendency to imitate.
Virus of the Mind is the first popular book devoted to the science of memetics, and it goes beyond the periphery of psychology, biology, anthropology and the science that studies the mental process of understanding. Richard Brodie has simplified the definition of meme (rhyming with "cream') as being a unit of information in a mind whose existence influences events such that more copies of it get created in other minds.
In Virus of the Mind, Brodie carefully builds on the work of the British scientist Richard Dawkins, who introduced the word "meme" in The Selfish Gene in 1976 as a basis for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena. Meme had also fascinated scientists like Douglas Hofstadter, Daniel Dennett, but it is Richard Brodie who has gone beyond the traditional explanation and understanding of the human mind and has plunged into the meat of the issue. The author tries to explore the possible impact of the mind virus in our lives, and feels that the impact will not be less than that of the emergence of atomic physics during the Cold War.
While the advancement of science has affected everybody's life, viruses of the mind touch our lives in a more personal way. The positive thing about it is that the pernicious effect of the virus will wane out as human beings always tend to retain the beneficial influence of it. Mind viruses have already infected governments, educational systems and domestic patterns, leading to some of the most pervasive changes hitherto unknown to our social scientists. Mind virus, the author points out, is not a thing to be kept aside for future consideration: it is here with us now and is evolving, to become better and better at its job of infecting us. The recent explosion of mass media and the expansion of the information superhighway have made the earth a prime breeding ground for viruses of the mind.
The author explains that memes enter our minds without our permission. They become part of our mental
programming and influence our lives without our even being aware of it. So it is of little use whether one desires it or not; it will be there to make you think or do a thing in a certain way. It will influence you to choose a dress or force you to adopt a set pattern of behavior by inducing a kind of logic deep in your mind. Since there is no way out of it, trying to understand and making necessary adjustments to adapt to a desirable life pattern is the smartest idea.
Like many conscious readers, the author also raises questions as to where this virus will lead us to. He wonders whether it will ultimately plague our minds or whether only some of us will survive with our free will intact. But the important point, one that shows light at the end of the tunnel, is that human minds, in a majority of cases, reject the malignant influence, retaining the beneficial ones. Hence, there is absolutely no reason for us to worry about the future influence of the mind virus. A clear understanding of what a meme is and how it works will without question help one to hold against the pernicious effect of the virus.
Virus of the Mind is a mental adventure. It stimulates, educates, and awakens you to what really happens to things you see and hear. Pick up this book. Study it and then give it to someone you love and you will spread a truly valuable virus.
Mohammad Abdul Hai is Principal, ABC International School, Narayanganj.
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