Difference between revisions of "Meme-ish"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m (→Meme-ish Traits: better counterexample for "comprehensibility") |
(→Meme-ish Traits: juicyness; alphabetic ordering) |
||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
* '''comprehensibility''': ideas which are easy to understand ("this medicine will make you healthy" as opposed to "if this medicine makes you feel worse, that's good because it confirms diagnosis A, which we can treat...") | * '''comprehensibility''': ideas which are easy to understand ("this medicine will make you healthy" as opposed to "if this medicine makes you feel worse, that's good because it confirms diagnosis A, which we can treat...") | ||
* '''explainability''': ideas which are easy to explain (some things are easier to understand than to explain, and vice-versa) | * '''explainability''': ideas which are easy to explain (some things are easier to understand than to explain, and vice-versa) | ||
| + | * '''juicyness''': some ideas make good gossip, or good headlines, or otherwise appeal to the motives of those with the ability to rapidly spread them. | ||
| + | * '''practical un[[testability]] of claims''': if a claim isn't easy to prove or disprove, this makes it harder to argue against the meme (because it ''might'' be true); this is particularly effective when combined with '''promise / threat''' | ||
* '''promise / threat''': ideas which promise reward and/or an avoidance of some undesirable consequence ("believe in the Word and be saved; those who believe not shall go to Hell" or "you need to wear make-up or men will think you are unattractive" or "you really need these ultrasonic deer sirens on your car if you want to avoid an accident") | * '''promise / threat''': ideas which promise reward and/or an avoidance of some undesirable consequence ("believe in the Word and be saved; those who believe not shall go to Hell" or "you need to wear make-up or men will think you are unattractive" or "you really need these ultrasonic deer sirens on your car if you want to avoid an accident") | ||
| + | * '''repetition''', i.e. [[meme spam]]: ideas which are deliberately seeded repeatedly tend to spread more rapidly; because of such spread, any given individual will tend to encounter such ideas from multiple sources, thus lending them additional credibility. | ||
* '''self-spreading''': ideas which encourage the recipient to spread the idea ("send this email to 10 of your friends"; "spread the Gospel so that others may be saved") | * '''self-spreading''': ideas which encourage the recipient to spread the idea ("send this email to 10 of your friends"; "spread the Gospel so that others may be saved") | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | |||
In general, these traits are most effective when combined in particular ways that effectively put up roadblocks against any of the obvious "exit reasoning" strategies, and thus make the [[meme]] very difficult for each new victim to resist. | In general, these traits are most effective when combined in particular ways that effectively put up roadblocks against any of the obvious "exit reasoning" strategies, and thus make the [[meme]] very difficult for each new victim to resist. | ||
Revision as of 14:58, 31 January 2007
Meme-ish Traits
The following traits tend to cause ideas to propagate out of proportion to their value as ideas:
- comprehensibility: ideas which are easy to understand ("this medicine will make you healthy" as opposed to "if this medicine makes you feel worse, that's good because it confirms diagnosis A, which we can treat...")
- explainability: ideas which are easy to explain (some things are easier to understand than to explain, and vice-versa)
- juicyness: some ideas make good gossip, or good headlines, or otherwise appeal to the motives of those with the ability to rapidly spread them.
- practical untestability of claims: if a claim isn't easy to prove or disprove, this makes it harder to argue against the meme (because it might be true); this is particularly effective when combined with promise / threat
- promise / threat: ideas which promise reward and/or an avoidance of some undesirable consequence ("believe in the Word and be saved; those who believe not shall go to Hell" or "you need to wear make-up or men will think you are unattractive" or "you really need these ultrasonic deer sirens on your car if you want to avoid an accident")
- repetition, i.e. meme spam: ideas which are deliberately seeded repeatedly tend to spread more rapidly; because of such spread, any given individual will tend to encounter such ideas from multiple sources, thus lending them additional credibility.
- self-spreading: ideas which encourage the recipient to spread the idea ("send this email to 10 of your friends"; "spread the Gospel so that others may be saved")
In general, these traits are most effective when combined in particular ways that effectively put up roadblocks against any of the obvious "exit reasoning" strategies, and thus make the meme very difficult for each new victim to resist.