How Memes Shape the Future, Best of TWT

Published: June 22, 2017, 11:30 p.m.

b'Phil and Stephen explore the wonderful world of memetics.\\n\\nIf our world is increasingly made of data, is it possible to overestimate the importance of these sticky, self-reproducing ideas?\\n\\nThe future is made out of our ideas about the future (our memes), our actions now, and how those actions interact with the world within the context of the current state of technology.\\n\\nTopics:\\n\\nMemes: idea viruses.\\n\\nPresident Obama\'s "Just Word\'s" speech.\\n\\nMemes: the lifeblood of politics\\n\\nEarly memes gave us civilization: fire, animal domestication, agriculture, and beer!\\n\\nSongs -- "Don\'t worry, be Happy"\\n\\nThe chain letter-- bait, a hook, and even negative consequences for not passing it on.\\n\\nJokes show how memes can mutate and evolve over time.\\n\\nUrban legends -- see Snopes\\n\\nHow Phil got so "infected by memes" at a Foresight Nanotech Vision weekend that he started the Speculist.\\n\\nAubrey de Grey: radical life extension is a meme that will save millions of lives.\\n\\n[This show first aired September 9, 2008.]'