MEMETICS

Virus of the Mind (1996). Brodie’s book, billed as the first popular work on memes, is part pop science and part self-help. In the general confusion, originating with Dawkins himself, about whether a meme resembles a gene (in which case, you cannot avoid it) or a virus (in which case you can and should), Brodie’s “long-awaited scientific theory unifying biology, psychology, and cognitive science” leans toward the viral view.151 He assures us that “people who understand memetics will have an increasing advantage in life, especially in preventing themselves from being manipulated or taken advantage of