Virus of the Mind

I recently read Virus of the Mind by Richard Brodie which discusses the concepts of memes. “A meme is a unit of information in a mind whose existence influences events such that more copies of itself get created in other minds.” According to the book ideas replicate not because they are good or helpful but because they are good at replicating.

Since reading the book, I have found myself looking at my thoughts and beliefs. Am I thinking something because it is helpful to me or because I am just used to thinking that thought? According the Brodie:

The word pay in “pay attention” is quite apt. As conscious beings, attention is our most precious commodity. Attention is a piece of our consciousness, a slice of our human life. When we direct our attention at something, we are spending a piece of our conscious life. How many of us consciously direct our attention toward whatever is most important to us?

Brodie’s book is like Tamiflu for the consciousness.