Sunday, August 19, 2007

Dennett Explains Dangerous Memes

From a TED Talk given in 2002 but just recently made available on the net.

Dennett first explains how organisms can be "hijacked" by parasites with the parasite using the organism to further its own genetic goals. Then he applies the principle to memes in humans.

3 comments:

Sillysighbean said...

Thank you for posting. I am reading Professor Dennent's book: "Consciousness Explained" and it is quite fascinating. He has most certainly influenced my thinking of how I view the world around me. Keep up the good work, I enjoy the site.

John Evo said...

Sillysighbean -

You're absolutely welcome. Dennett is a big favorite of mine and has influenced my thinking as well. If you get the chance be sure to read "Darwin's Dangerous Idea", one of the most powerful defenses and explanations of Darwinian evolution imaginable.

Kellygorski said...

I saw this on his site, but I couldn't find it anywhere else so I could embed it onto my own blog. Thanks a million for posting it.

Silly: Could you tell me how the book is once you've finished it? I almost bought it on Amazon, but I was hesitant until I read more reviews.