Cyberpunk
Meme
04/07/10 20:30
"...for us hacking is not only computer hacking but it's much more."
Phrack 64 - The projection of consciousness
Richard Dawkins, a British scientist, coined the word "meme" as cultural analogue to genes. Dawkins defined the meme as a unit of cultural transmission like melodies, fashions and learned skills from one mind to another. Memes are spread by the behaviors that they generate in their hosts, one might say by imitation. It can also be transmitted from one to another through a copy recorded in an inanimate source, such as a book.
For example, a certain culture stands out with a special method or design of tool-making. It`s a fact that some cultures have developed better tools than others. The meme's function directly affects the presence of the design in future generations. In times where you can share thoughts and files through the internet everyone could benefit from your developments. The term Internet-Meme has already been used as a reference to the concept of memes.
Another interesting discovery that could stand in connection to sharing information was recognized by Gary Schwartz. He claims that he has 70 cases where he believes transplant recipients have inherited the traits of their donors. There is a case where a little girl who never was in music suddenly ruled the piano after a heart transplantation. It turned out that the donor organ was from a pianist. In relation to that there is maybe some truth in adopting the power of an animal by eating certain parts of it.
In the cyberpunk anime Ghost in the Shell a mind can be copied and the body replaced with a synthetic form. So the boundary between human and machine is getting ambiguous. This topic is discussed by the english philosopher Gilbert Ryle and in the essay "The Ghost in the Machine" by Arthur Koestler.
Always practice yourself to be an open minded.
References:
http://phrack.org/issues.html?issue=64&id=16#article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme
http://www.skepdic.com/cellular.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_Ghost_in_the_Shell
Comments
Democracy under corporate control
24/01/10 16:27
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the government may not ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections. With the argument that the 5-to-4 decision was a vindication of the First Amendment’s most basic free speech principle, everything they want is control and ironically it is now legal to accumulate the power to control.
Allowing corporate money to flood the political marketplace would corrupt democracy and lead us to the dark future of your favorite cyberpunk movies. Is it really that bad? I don`t know. Maybe, maybe not. Keep thinking critically and your spirit alive.
References:
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-205.pdf
http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/news-as-cyberpunk/corporations-are-people-too-according-to-the-us-supreme-court/
Allowing corporate money to flood the political marketplace would corrupt democracy and lead us to the dark future of your favorite cyberpunk movies. Is it really that bad? I don`t know. Maybe, maybe not. Keep thinking critically and your spirit alive.
References:
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-205.pdf
http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/news-as-cyberpunk/corporations-are-people-too-according-to-the-us-supreme-court/
Google launches Skynet
29/10/09 20:20
Cybertek Zine
25/07/08 17:37
Once again, the Doktor made me call attention to a Cyberpunk-Zine called: Cybertek. You think the end of the world is near? Maybe you are right! Then this zine is exactly right for you. It covers various stuff about hacking, phreaking, plenty tech tipps, survival techniques...etc. Everything you need to know to dare this cruel new world. I was really impressed about the fact that it`s actually active scine 1990! Great style, that`s what I call dandy. So who claims that the underground is dead? The heart is still beating.
habitats of interests:
W I R E D T O P 10
streettech.com - cybertek review
Cybertek Issue #25
Cybertek_25.pdf (local mirror)