Mind viruses are good

• the term mind virus was initially coined by richard dawkins to bash on religion (which is why the word virus was used (negative connotation))
  • i want to reimagine the mind virus as the root meaning to humans in general

purpose of life: to consume, distribute, and create mind viruses.

• at the very least consuming/distributing/creating mind viruses is a necessary condition to live a meaningful life

this formula has worked for the Buddha, jesus, hitler, stalin, musicians, olympians, mathematicians, philosophers, (everyone who has a sustainable purpose in life).

• youtube, twitter, and tiktok are all mind viruses. they control (inadvertently or maliciously) the zeitgeist

• conventional mind viruses: language, music, literature, religion

  • the internet makes it possible for a single centralized entity to own and monetize a mind virus
    • can be argued that the church is similar, but the difference is in monetization. in religion, the money is donated from the participants (salvation from physical suffering). internet mind viruses monetize indirectly (salvation from boredom/fomo?)
    • but the internet democratized the consumption, distribution, and creation of mind viruses
    • before the internet, the consumption/distributuon/creation of mind viruses was an anomoly
    • universities/church used to be the primary mind virus incubators. its role has been supplanted by the internet (eg. lex fridman, jordan peterson are youtubers more than they are professors)

• music is the most infectious mind virus

  • tiktok — metronome

• • longing to comune with others like us

monetization

• how can mind virus aggregators make money? ads.
• how can mind virus specialists make money?
• what value can the protocol’s owner extract?
• what does the mind virus offer to the consumer
• Q: do mind viruses contribute to gdp? A: not directly, but a case could be made that mind viruses save people from nihilism.