Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme [Hardcover]

Richard Brodie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1995 | ISBN-10: 0963600117 | ISBN-13: 978-0963600110 | Edition: 1st

Virus of the Mind is the first popular book devoted to the science of memetics, a controversial new field that transcends psychology, biology, anthropology, and cognitive science. Memetics is the science of memes, the invisible but very real DNA of human society.

In Virus of the Mind, Richard Brodie carefully builds on the work of scientists Richard Dawkins, Douglas Hofstadter, Daniel Dennett, and others who have become fascinated with memes and their potential impact on our lives. But Richard goes beyond science and dives into the meat of the issue: is the emergence of this new science going to have an impact on our lives like the emergence of atomic physics did in the Cold War? He would say the impact will be at least as great. While atomic bombs affect everybody’s life, viruses of the mind touch lives in a more personal and more pernicious way.

Mind viruses have already infected governments, educational systems, and inner cities, leading to some of the most pervasive and troublesome problems of society today: youth gangs, the welfare cycle, the deterioration of the public schools, and ever-growing government bureaucracy.

Viruses of the mind are not a future worry: they are here with us now and are evolving to become better and better at their job of infecting us. The recent explosion of mass media and the information superhighway has made the earth a prime breeding ground for viruses of the mind.

Will there be a mental plague? Will only some of us survive with our free will intact? Richard Brodie weaves together science, ethics, and current events as he raises these and other very disturbing questions about memes.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you've ever wondered how and why people become robotically enslaved by advertising, religion, sexual fantasy, and cults, wonder no more. It's all because of "mind viruses," or "memes," and those who understand how to plant them into other's minds. This is the first truly accessible book about memes and how they make the world go 'round.

Of course, like all good memes, the ideas in Brodie's book are double-edged swords. They can vaccinate against the effects of cognitive viruses, but could also be used by those seeking power to gain it even more effectively. If you don't want to be left behind in the coevolutionary arms race between infection and protection, read about memes.

Review

Anyone who wants to be involved in media in the next ten years must understand memetics and must read Virus of the Mind. -- Danny Bannister, President, The Mental Fitness Company, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 251 pages
• Publisher: Integral Pr; 1st edition (September 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963600117
• ISBN-13: 978-0963600110
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #833,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard Brodie dropped out of Harvard to join Bill Gates in the personal-computer revolution at Microsoft. There he wrote the first version of Microsoft Word before becoming Gates's technical assistant. His books Getting Past OK and Virus of the Mind are international bestsellers, published in many languages across the globe.

A lover of technological progress, he made a deal with marketing manager Jeff Raikes in 1983. Jeff wanted to save time and ship the first version of Microsoft Word without support for a new device called a "mouse." Jeff's research showed that none of their users had demand for such a device. Richard thought hard and promised to put in mouse support in one week, working night and day. Jeff agreed on Friday afternoon. The version with mouse support was on his desk Thursday morning. Jeff went on to become the president of Microsoft's business division.

Before leaving Microsoft, Richard led the design for the Windows version of Word, code-named "Cashmere." Bill Gates always thought the name referred to the fact that Bill liked to wear cashmere sweaters, but in reality it came from passing through the Washington town of Cashmere during a river-rafting trip with some Microsoft colleagues.

During the Cashmere design, Richard came up with the idea of the Combo Box (a combination text box and drop-down menu widely used today), the Ribbon (a strip of buttons at the top of the screen used to display and change formatting), and his favorite, the squiggly red underline that checked and flagged spelling errors automatically.

Not being a nine-to-five kind of guy, Richard retired when Microsoft went public, before Cashmere shipped. When it did, he was distressed to see the squiggly red underline hadn't been included. Nor was it included in the next version. Finally, he cornered development manager Chris Mason in the Microsoft Cafeteria and asked why they hadn't done what he thought was the coolest feature.

"Oh, it's too hard," said Chris. "No it's not!" said Richard. "You just do this and this and this..." Chris thought for two seconds and said, "Oh, you're right, that's easy. We'll put it in." And it was in the next version. "Why didn't they pick up the phone and ask me how to do it?" Richard wondered. It's not like I moved to the moon. It was in the next version.

In retirement, Richard sampled many personal-growth groups (as he put it, "I joined cults as a hobby) and boiled down what he thought were the best ideas into his book Getting Past OK. As part of that research he saw the importance of the idea of "memes" -- contagious ideas that evolve in our culture -- and realized there wasn't a book about them, so he wrote one: Virus of the Mind.

Richard has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows, including Oprah, and maintains an eclectic blog at www.liontales.com where he shares his thoughts and stories. His current hobby is poker, and he has appeared on television a few times playing big tournaments. ("With somewhat limited success," he says. "So far.") He lives in Kirkland, Washington.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

156 of 172 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Basic Primer On Memetics & Evolutionary Psychology, April 14, 1999

By 

Alex Burns ([e-mail]) (Melbourne (Australia)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme (Hardcover)

Since its publication in 1996, Richard Brodie's 'Virus of the Mind' has ignited ongoing debate within the memetics community, and signalled the beginning of the new science crossing-the-chasm into the mainstream (for example, Oprah Winfrey invited Brodie on her talk-show in January 1999).

For 'hard' scientific data and mathematical/conceptual modelling (which really conveys why memetics is a legitimate science and not just a controversial upstart), you definately need to look elsewhere (Brodie himself has admitted this to me in extensive interviews). Texts by Lynch, Beck & Cowan, Csikzentmihalyi, Blackmore, Dennett, Dawkins, and Hofstadter are more useful in this regard. Brodie should be considered as a populariser of memetics, able to look at its impact on and relevance to contemporary cultural debates.

Politics aside, Brodie's book is best understood as an accessible introduction to the memetics field, which can capture and hold a general audience's attention. It is closer in many respects to a description of evolutionary psychology drives, 'hot buttons', coercive double-binds, and ideological faith/belief structures used by cults, advertisers, politicians, and religious entities.

Thus, a reading of 'Virus of the Mind' can offer you an accessible text with some insight into how people are programmed, and how to become more aware of your own consensus trance (Charles T. Tart). It continues a self-help perspective developed by Brodie in his earlier book 'Getting Past OK'. Many of Brodie's ideas have been said before in different contexts, but the memetics angle puts a fresh spin on things, and his early chapters on definitions of memes are useful for the layperson in confronting a rapidly growing field.

As long as you don't expect the definitive text on memetics (which Dawkins may one day write as 'The Selfish Meme'?), you will find some useful insights that can be quickly integrated into everyday living. This is the real strength of the book, and partly why it has proven to be so popular.

98 of 108 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Consciousness Raising Book, December 8, 1999

By 

Jake Sapiens - See all my reviews

This review is from: Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme (Hardcover)

Richard Brodie's, Virus of the Mind, presents what has proven to me the most practical use of the idea of memes. He presents plenty of good scientific background to set up the concept for those still unfamiliar with the meme meme. Although he does not actually inaugurate a true scientific field of memetics, he uses the concept of memes very skillfully to raise our consciousness and look at everyday things in our culture in a whole new light. In this respect I think he accomplishes far more than many of the unsatisfying attempts to make memetics a full fledged science. It is a bit early to expect such grand successful collective science, but it is not too early to raise our consciousness as individuals about some of these ideas, and Richard Brodie does a fantastic job in that undertaking.

Unlike some in the self-development field, Richard Brodie does not insult the intelligence of more educated readers. He doesn't hide the ball, act mysterious in his presentation, cop out to supernaturalism, or try to claim false or highly questionable scientific support. I have found it easy to disagree with him on some points and still get a lot out of his work. He has certainly given a lot of serious thought to the nuances, pitfalls, and strongpoints of our modern culture and that shows through in this book. He is a guy trying to figure things out just like all of us, and he shares his thoughts in a non-offensive highly accessible way. I think you will find his book a joy to read, and find many useful insights as we individually try to navigate the quickly evolving cultural environment we find ourselves in today.

75 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Memes for dummies (3 1/2 stars), May 6, 2006

By 

Chillyayo (NyC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme (Paperback)

Please be advised that this book does not take a cold calculated scientific approach at explaining memetics. Richard Brodie explains memes by recounting his personal discovery of memes, futhermore elaborating a fairly modest 'scientific' conclusion. I recommended this book to those merely curious about memetics. If you like 'guru-type' self help books you'll find that this book will suffice is explaining memes while expanding your consciousness. If you are looking for a scientific approach to memetics I would recommend Susan Blackmore's The Meme Machine.