Ideas Do Not Spread Because they are Good

May 29th, 2008

Hey, anytime you can tie Richard Dawkins and social/viral marketing together, you get full props from me. I am fascinated with both of those topics. This is an interesting point-out regarding our naively thinking that we adopt new ideas because they’re oh-so-awesome. (To use Bush’s new favorite “presidential” word.)

Mythbusting: Ideas Do Not Spread Because they are Good | Dan Zarrella

…that book, The Selfish Gene, posited (and largely put the argument to bed) that genes replicate for their own good, not the good of the host. Genes survive and thrive not based on how much value they bring to the creature they inhabit but based on how good they are at replicating, they’re selfish. There are plenty of genes who’s phenotypes produce negative results for their hosts, yet they continue to spread.

The same is true, and perhaps even more obviously, for memes. Auto-toxic memes are harmful to their host, and exo-toxic memes are dangerous to others. The list of virulently “adopted” bad ideas is endless, but here’s a small sample:

* Blood feuds
* Terrorism
* Suicide
* Drug abuse
* Antisemitism
* Pyramid schemes
* Cults