Can we think our way to a better world?
Do you know what a meme is? As I write this the word itself is underlined in red. My PC doesn’t know what a meme is. Late last year I read a book by Richard Dawkins so ya, I happen to know what it is. Isn’t that exactly why we do what we do, selling books I mean? A meme is simply an idea. An idea that is capable of moving from host to host, spreading. These things we sell called books, a tried and true delivery system for memes play a large part in our lives, don’t they? If you’ve ever sold a beautiful poem, if you’ve sold a book containing at least one societally beneficial meme and I bet you do every day, then go to sleep with a smile. The next time you sell a stack of books and you know that deep within the pages of that jacketless tome on the bottom lies a really good meme just waiting to come out, smile. Sell a book today, spread a meme and make the world a better place.
This passage I just wrote was inspired by a talk by Dan Dennett. I will be posting the talk later this week. Here it is…
[...] Shall I compare thee to an unread text? Thou art less lovely but more affordable Rough hands withdraw them not nor their pages vex Jackets pristine, their flaws ignorable An unread book is like a door unope’d No trips of fancy in its pages had And worse yet if its pages be uncoup’d It might as be a rock, a hole, a shad But thy glittering jacket will not fade Nor will you be remaindered, forgotten But taken home by me, my dollar paid Not treasured or packed with care in cotton But unlocked and freed from chains academe Unlocked again a book, a hope, a meme. [...]