ipl-logo

The Memes Theory

1888 Words8 Pages

The human brain process material so quickly and the amount that we observe is extremely mind-blowing. One characteristic we have as human beings is we pass down information from one person to the next. Whether it be events, or culture, information continues to be carried on. Some of the information that is passed down is very well known. These imitations are known as memes and the way they get recycled is known as the meme theory. Susan Blackmore discusses the meme theory in her essay “Strange Creatures”. Blackmore talks about how the transmission of memes is almost unavoidable. On the other hand, Lauren Slater talks about implanting neural implants called deep brain stimulation (or DBS for short) to control one’s mood for people who have …show more content…

Memes are controlling because they get passed down and people circulate them around. Blackmore states “Each of these memes has evolved in its own unique way with its own history, but each of them is using your behavior to get itself copied.” (37). Blackmore is saying that each meme has been created in its own individual way but it ultimately comes down to humans to pass on the imitation. Religion is a meme that is also extremely controlling. Most of our religious views come from our parents until we are least of the age to think for ourselves which does not happen for a long time. Even then, it is difficult as a young adult to believe in different idea than our parents without some form of negative retaliation or conflict. After having a certain idea or belief drilled into our heads for more than a decade it makes sense why so many people stick with what they have been told and refuse to make a change in how they feel, or how they were forced to feel for so long. This also makes it easy to understand why people continue to pass down these beliefs. People will continue to do something until they have a reason not to which is why religion continues to be passed down. This lack of control can also be found in deep brain stimulation. Slater talks about the lack of control that we have when she states “Despite prescription requirements, there is tremendous freedom in being a pill popper….And yet, patients do not, cannot, fully understand, or appreciate, the degree to which, after the surgery, they will be under their doctor’s control” (240). Slater is talking about how much control the doctor will have on the patient once the deep brain stimulation implants are surgically put in. Slater compares deep brain stimulation to prescription; unlike prescriptions where the individuals control how much they consume, the doctor has complete control over what is happening to

Show More
Related
408 Words | 2 Pages

Nicholas Carr in “The Shallows” (2010) asserts that, “The Net may well be the single most powerful mind-altering technology that has ever come into general use. Carr supports this assertion by telling us that we’re often oblivious to everything else going on around us. The real world recedes as we process the flood of symbols and stimuli coming through our devices” (118). The writer concludes that the resulting self-consciousness, even at times, fear magnifies the intensity of our involvement with the medium. Carr makes a direct tone to explain how the exception of alphabets and number systems, are so powerful to our brains and can alter our minds.

Read More
814 Words | 4 Pages

The masses of society have had the privilege to choose what to believe and what not to believe. Consequently, the most marginalized groups of society are left to fall in the narrative that was created for them in society.

Read More
204 Words | 1 Pages

It also aimed at raising awareness on testicular cancers, depression, anxiety and other men’s health issue ("It 's Movember - How 's the Mo Growing Bros?", 2009). Movember does not just seek to raise money. More important purpose of Movember is to increase the understanding of men’s health problems and encourage them to have follow-up action. Movember hope that “Mo bros” can to be “a real man” —to face the illness or go for regular medical checks.

Read More
852 Words | 4 Pages

In the book the Feed, the author M.T. Anderson explores a world of technology innovations that demonstrate a perfect model of science fiction. Science fiction is fiction that is based on envisioned future technology advances and environmental changes that affect the world largely. In this society people would rather go out of their way to avoid human interaction, text than call, or surf the web rather than engaging in a conversation. In this story Anderson goes over the top by starting with 70% of Americans joined together with internet chips implanted into their brains called feeds. Most get the feed when they are first born so it makes them rely on technology to get through life.

Read More
536 Words | 3 Pages

The word religion was adapted from the Latin term religio, a term roughly equivalent to “scrupulousness” The decision to embrace a religion is a highly personal one , and is often rooted in a desire for community, guidance, and emotional solace. Religion can provide a framework for ethical and moral decision-making in life, as well as a sense of purpose and direction in

Read More
243 Words | 1 Pages

The United States participation in the Great War changed America in many ways. The first major change was the sense of being American. For the first time people had an overwhelming since of patriotism as well as nationalism. This is very important as we move forward in time. In many ways the United States was more united than ever, but their was also some problems that arose.

Read More
1252 Words | 6 Pages

When you are young you are taught what is generally right or wrong. You are not given a chance to choose what you believe in since you are only a baby, and cannot fully comprehend the concept of religion. Once you are old enough, you are exposed to the variety of cultures that may fascinate you, and will help influence how you think. The majority of individuals tend to follow their own beliefs when they are well into their adult life, since they were taught to believe what their parents believed in. In Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio a young Catholic is left to question his beliefs when a curandera named Ultima exposes him to her own beliefs.

Read More
1896 Words | 8 Pages

Body Section 1 Paragraph 1 Parents put rules or standards of their children to follow, confusing children at times when a new option is brought up. Their parents might have a set religion already in the family and in most cases expect them to follow it. When a child comes across another religion that seems to work better for them, they can become confuse on what to follow. Should they either stay with what they already know, or make their own choice and choose something else.

Read More
271 Words | 2 Pages

Nicholas Carr, What the Internet is doing to Our Brains The Shallows (2010) asserts that, “The price we pay to assume technology’s power is alienation.” He supports this assertion by saying, “They both ultimately achieve their mental and behavioral effects by shaping the synaptic organization of the brain.” Also by, “ We long to keep it activated.” The writer concludes in order for people to improve their thoughts, they will have to cope with the new technology and how they think. Carr believes that technology is taking over how people interact with each other.

Read More
882 Words | 4 Pages

Religion often times is depicted as a specific institution that follows the teaching of the Bible, Torah, or the Quran. People fail to realize that religion can stand as anything for any particular person depending on their values. These values bring about sacred symbols, object, or systems to

Read More
629 Words | 3 Pages

Early in my life, religion shaped some of my beliefs, limited my free will because of its principles, and shifted my perception of reality because it added a new perspective of the world to my life that I was forced to believe. I also know that I do not have to sit in the same seat in my classes everyday because everybody else and I do not want to cause a disruption by changing my seat. However, there are many things that in my life that I have yet to link to the larger world. I am still subjected to these social forces and my sociological imagination is still being

Read More
760 Words | 4 Pages

Exploring Pleasure and Pain In his Ted Talk, The Origins of Pleasure, Paul Bloom has explored how the source of an item can define its value and how this affects the pleasure or pain within human nature. Bloom has the ability to elicit the audience’s interest because of his avid storytelling, his use of relatable scenarios and his sense of humour. Bloom ventures through his talk to get to his final thought of about how ones perception can change pain into pleasure.

Read More
1644 Words | 7 Pages

Religion is something that we teach ourselves or someone will teach it to us. When we start to grow up, we figure out ourselves and what we like to do. We don’t have people teaching us about our favorite things. Our favorite things come to us naturally and that is when we start to get compassion for it. We start developing compassion when we are born and with religion we start to learn that when we are old enough to understand the concept of our religion.

Read More
1155 Words | 5 Pages

For this paper, I chose to write about the Little Albert experiment The overall importance of this study was to discover if a human could be conditioned to develop a bias, fear, or generalized fear of an animal, object, or person based the stimuli placed around the involved person, animal or object. Watson & Rayner (1920) suggested that “in infancy the original emotional reaction patterns are few, consisting so far as observed of fear, rage and love, then there must be some simple method by means of which the range of stimuli which can call out these emotions and their compounds is greatly increased.” This means that before any conditioning occurs, the subject should have a pure response, but after minor and simple experimentation and conditioning,

Read More
727 Words | 3 Pages

Frameworks and Theories Surrounding Social Media Uptake The overwhelming success of social media has been to date continuously investigated by academic researchers and practitioners. Several existing theories from various fields in social science such as information technology, economics and social psychology have been extended in the area of social media to explain its adoption. Here we discuss some of the key theories and frameworks frequently mentioned in social media literature: One of the earliest social science theory applied is the Diffusion of Innovation (DoI) Theory first developed by E. M. Rogers in 1962.

Read More

More about The Memes Theory

Related Topics

Open Document