Virus of the Mind: The Revolutionary New Science of the Meme and How it Can Help You by Richard Brodie
We are surrounded by information in the 21st Century: we are bombarded by advertising, attitudes, celebrities, news, wars, fashion, the latest fads...the sheer amount of information we have access to appears untameable, unworkable, and too much to gain sense from unless we pick and choose very carefully. However, our choices are very often made for us as the result of advertising, media companies, the government and popular culture. The results of these choices are called memes, and their impact is shaping not just society but us individually, and on a core level, beyond psychology, personal free will, and even genetics. The very first book on the subject of memes, and how they behave just like viruses, this is an incredible study into the power of communication and going along with everyone else. Virus of the Mind explains just how we are infected by the deliberate shaping of society's attitudes and behaviors - and how we can cure ourselves.