Brin and the Survival of the Fittest

In a "lightly edited" transcript of a speech given at BYU in 1989, David Brin discusses the spread of ideas in the context of historical and developing systems of thought. He begins by remarking that genes, which some scientists argue are able to actively guide our bodies down a path that will ensure their spread, are comparable to memes, or ideas. Like genes, these memes are like spores in Brin's mind: once they spread, they take root in the mind and multiply, although they spread through word of mouth, from person to person. He strengthens the connection with both genes and darwinian theory by suggesting that perhaps some memes become beneficial for their host, increasing the individual's influence over others and spreading itself through the attraction it generates (consider the bathing meme example). In this sense memes carve out their territory in the human mind and drive away competitors for a time, Brin says. He expands the notion of memes waging war upon each other by discussing major antagonistic memes that have done battle with each other for centuries: paranoia, machismo, "The East", and a fourth meme he has deemed "The Dogma of Otherness". Brin both predicts and hopes the world will continue to take up the Dogma of Otherness the coming years (as of 1989, but arguably as of today as well): he foresees a world whose outlook is open and accepting, which would refute the suppression of women found in the other three worldviews, espouse a suspicion of authority that would make for a more transparent and honest society, and do countless other goods (make the words "freedom" and concepts of racial equality commonly accepted, etc.). At its heart, Brin argues, the Dogma of Otherness reveres diversity above all, and so the war it is waging with the other belief systems is one over whether that will be a core human value in the future.

I really agreed with Brin's view that in the previous three worldviews memes from outside societies scared only those in power, and not the peasantry. As he mentions in his example of Soviet Russia, those who rule are the only ones who have to fear outside memes because they can potentially dethrone them, and this would be a primary concern of any authority figure. To this extent the Dogma of Otherness' strength lies in its ability to welcome those memes that are beneficial to it and to crush those who would stand to destroy its positive outlook of issues that have been contentious in the past (i.e. women's rights).

The concept that these ruling individuals would be host to the most influential memes is also fascinating. However, I cannot say that I completely see that memes are individual actors in the human arena. Although ideas spread, they do not do so without human input. In this I see a sort of natural selection, although it is implemented by the human mind. As humans, we naturally process information, come up with multiple ideas, views, and ways of doing things in order to be as rational as possible, and then select the best course of action (or the one that makes the most sense to us, at the very least). We interact with those ideas, develop them, or do away with them at our leisure. Perhaps they can take root and influence us, but we still have the ability to review and to consider our own actions and thoughts. I feel that these memes are the products of human interpretation; however, I would like to learn more about Brin's views on the origination of these memes, and to what extent he sees human interactions and thoughts impacting them.