The Memetics Institute
Tracking and studying dangerous viral culture across the globe.
Viral culture spreads at the speed of light. The nature of our media changes how we perceive and internalize facts.
The advent of social media and “the scroll” has created conditions for altering how we perceive truth and register it at a deep psychological level. Advertisers know the power of ubiquity and frequency, and there has never been a platform with more frequency of exposure to repeated messaging. This alters our phenomenal field. The social media environment simultaneously reinforces belief and creates anxiety. 24/7 cable news networks are different, but have a similar effect. Both media are what McLuhan referred to as “cool” in that they are low-information, low-resolution environments that require active participation. Active participation results in more awareness and internalization of content. When applied to cultural content, such as politics and the issues it deals with like safety and security, there is no better way to enforce a narrative.
Awareness
Identification of the content of viral culture that poses a threat to our species.
Data
Quantifying the spread of viral outbreaks over time and space.
Innoculation
Developing methodologies that combat threatening viral culture before a memetic pandemic is reached.
Making an Impact Across the Globe
The Memetics Institute is developing tools rooted in media monitoring and analysis that will track, analyze, diagnose and visualize outbreaks of viral culture.
Memetics Mimics Genetics
A virus in both Genetics and Memetics requires a host with the right characteristics to replicate and spread. In Genetics, the virus’ RNA uses the cell’s DNA. It highjacks genetic code for its own purposes. In Memetics, viral culture hijacks human processes of being, calculation and awareness, such as the limbic system in the brain. It accesses those systems through the phenomenal field, which extends into our media technologies and other tools. It thereby sometimes leads us to become deeply invested in ideologies and ideas that are detrimental to our survival, both individually and as a society.
%
Republicans who believe in the QAnon Conspiracy
%
Americans who believe Bill Gates is behind COVID-19
Danger in Delusion
Active cases in Memetic Pandemics become a risk to themselves and others by engaging in behaviour no longer rooted in a worldview based in reality.
Featured Case Studies
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
We are inspired by a wide range of thinkers and research, including:
- Media theorists like Marshall McLuhan
- Phenomenologists like Maurice Merleau-Ponty
- Cultural theorists like Roland Barthes
- Situationists like Guy Debord
- Pataphysicists like Jarry and Baudrillard
- Political theorists like George Lakoff
The Medium is the Massage
The media you use profoundly influence the way you perceive and react to the world around and the people you communicate with. This impacts the deeper decision-making process in ways you may not be aware of.
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