Virus of the Mind:: The New Science of the Meme

I recently finished this book and would recommend it to others interested in how language influences behaviors. Sure, there are many themes the book addresses, but my main focus was examining the connections between language manipulation and control of behavior.

Snakes on a plane: the book.

If you've just read Dawkins' books such as The Selfish Gene or The Blind Watchmaker and think this might be a good follow up please think twice!

This is not a science book and reads much more like a self help book. There is a very low content/noise ratio as it delivers very few ideas, and then expounds upon the same ideas over and over again using every new metaphor or anecdote the author can imagine. I couldn't even finish it as I was bored to tears and eventually just felt completely patronized and then annoyed by the author's sloppy understanding of the science involved.

He repeatedly refers to natural selection as a "kludge" which shows a complete lack of understanding of Dawkins' material.

If you want a good laugh at Brodie's incompetence with even basic statistics use Amazon's Inside This Book feature to read the paragraph on page 173 that begins "Now let's get a handle on what it really means..." (you can also search on the number 6500 to find this page). Either the author is clueless, or the people on this island have 1-year lifespans.

How did this guy get published?

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.

¿Como explicar los cambios en las culturas organizacionales ? Este libro te enseña no solo eso, sino ademas, como esto afecta a nivel social y personal. En Mexico, un meme muy poderoso es "la crisis", el cual dice que "nadie puede progresar porque no hay dinero y no hay dinero porque estamos en crisis". Con la informacion de este libro puedes reconocer este meme y quitartelo de una vez por todas.

First of all I would like to point out that people like to attack the things they don't understand, especially when it threatens to change their world view. Second THIS WAS AN AMAZING BOOK. Reading it as some one not familiar with memes, it was a very good intro lesson. I agree he is not one of the literary masters but there is not use in denying the importance of the subject matter. I went for months without being able to see a TV commercial or radio ad without thinking about this concept. It will either open your eyes or you would condemn Richard Brodie to hell yourself. Very powerfull ideas, although most of the really good ones weren't originally his own. If you don't believe in the concept please read George Orwell's essay: "Politics and the English Language", and "The Selfish Gene". Ignore the other naysayers only defending their narrow world view. If you have an open mind this book is an adventure.