Cultural Software : A Theory of Ideology
by J. Balkin
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Paperback (25 May, 1998)
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A wise and erudite analysis of cultural understanding
This is a wonderfully wise, erudite, and well-written book. Don't let the title fool you. The book is not about forms of software designed to promote culture. The book is about cultural understanding, and culture software isan apt metaphor, helping Balkin to explain his position. As Balkindemonstrates in a wide variety of contexts, our tools of culturalunderstanding are a double-edged sword leading us to progress on the onehand and substantial injustice on the other. The book features anenormously valuable guide to and critique of the literature on ideology, apersuasive account of the pragmatic necessity of making transcendent claimsabout truth and justice, and extremely rich discussions of the ways wethink about the world, including, e.g., narration, metaphor, and pairedoppositions. Particularly impressive is Balkin's ability to crisply,accessibly, and fairly treat a wide variety of important thinkers from manydifferent disciples. This book should appeal to all who try to thinkbroadly whether their primary intellectual allegiance is to Anthropology,History, Law, Philosophy (analytic or continental), Political Science,Psychology, or Sociology.

Steven Shiffrin, Cornell University

A profound and sophisticated theory
I highly recommend this book, especially for scholars in law, philosophy,and political theory.It is one of the most insightful and wide-rangingbooks I have read.Balkin develops a profound and sophisticated theory ofcultural understanding - the ways in which individuals think, form theirbeliefs, values, and identities, and evaluate each other's ideas.Balkinexplains cultural understanding by using the very appropriate metaphor of"cultural software."With this metaphor, he crafts a theory ofcultural understanding that accounts for the effects of historical changeon shared belief systems as well as variation and disagreement amongindividuals in the same culture.Balkin's topic is one that is bothincredibly complex yet essential to many fields: conceptions of culturalunderstanding underpin much of the scholarly discourse in philosophy,sociology, political theory, and law.Although his project is quiteambitious, he engages it with remarkable clarity, depth, andsophistication.The book is unusual in that it masterfully synthesizesnumerous diverse fields, including philosophy, law, psychology, biology,and sociology.Balkin is at home in each of these fields, displayingcommand over the thought of such diverse thinkers such as Plato, Geertz,Foucault, Levi-Strauss, Gadamer, Goffman, and Mannheim.

Balkin is afantastic writer, able to explain his concepts very clearly withoutresorting to excessive jargon and without sacrificing complexity or nuance. The richness of his thoughtis manifested when he applies his theories toconcrete issues in law and politics, such as his powerful analysis ofracism toward the end of the book.The book is also worth reading forBalkin's absolutely superb discussion of narratives, one of the mostilluminating I have read.In sum, this book is definitely worth reading;Balkin has set forth a serious and convincing theory to be reckoned with. ... Read more

Isbn: 0300072880
Sales Rank: 681962
Subjects:  1. Culture    2. Ideology    3. Jurisprudence    4. Memetics    5. Law    6. Mind & Body    7. Philosophy    8. Philosophy (Specific Aspects)    9. Social values    10. Sociology    11. Sociology - Social Theory    12. Contagion (Social psychology)   

Darwinizing Culture: The Status of Memetics As a Science
by Robert Aunger
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Hardcover (01 March, 2000)
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Culture Clash in Cambridge: Meme's doubters unconvinced
Unlike most edited volumes based on conferences, which typically read like random collections of papers glued between two covers, Aunger's edited volume displays a remarkable coherence.Against all odds, he enticed a highly diverse group of academics to Cambridge who then constructively debated the status of memetics as a science. Susan Blackmore, after Richard Dawkins probably the most well-known proponent of memetics, and David Hull, a sympathetic critic, open the book with strong arguments for taking memetics seriously.Henry Plotkin and Rosaria Conte then offer critiques of what they perceive as the somewhat faulty psychological assumptions underlying the meme concept.Plotkin argues against making "imitation" the centerpiece of mimetic mechanisms, and Conte argues for a much more sophisticated and complex social cognitive perspective on memetics.She presents a complex model of humans as limited autonomous agents, focusing on their active role in the perpetuation of cultural knowledge.

Kevin Laland and John Odling-Smee are sympathetic to the general notion of memes, but ask for more consideration of the multiple processes involved in evolution.Their own contribution is the concept of niche construction, based on the idea that species have effects on their environments that subsequently constrain future generations.Reprising ideas from their 1985 book, Culture and the Evolutionary Process, Boyd and Richerson argue for population level thinking in evolutionary models of cultural change.I should note that the renewed interest in evolutionary thinking stirred up by Blackmore and others has resulted in the University of Chicago Press's re-issuing their book!

The last three chapters of the book are much more negative toward the whole enterprise.Dan Sperber uses creative examples and logical proofs to conclude that Dawkin's conception of memes is misguided.He argues that recent thinking in memetics goes against recent work in developmental and evolutionary psychology.Adam Kuper notes that there already are well-established techniques for the study of cultural diffusion, especially in anthropology.He concludes that the "memetics industry" has yet to deliver on its claims.Finally, another anthropologist, Maurice Bloch, argues that memeticists have merely rediscovered what anthropology has known for decades, and in fact, is making all the same mistakes.He has harsh words for scientists who jump into an area without paying more attention to what has already been done by others working in that area.

Aunger provides excellent introductory and concluding chapters, which constitute valuable contributions in themselves.Chapter 1 beautifully lays out the issues and provides a constructive guide to the issues over which the contributors struggled.Chapter 11 concludes the book with an assessment of the contributors' arguments and a frank admission of his own skepticism.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the concept of memes, cultural and social evolution, and the cultural divide between the natural and the social sciences.You will not only learn something about memes, but you will also see how serious academic debate can be pulled off in a civilized and constructive manner.My hat is off to Robert Aunger!

A Wonderful Introduction to Meme Theory.
For those unfamiliar with the notion of "memes," they are, quite simply, the theoretical smallest cultural commodity - an idea - that replicates itself through its symbiotic relationship with its human host.The idea is either entirely absurd or the solution to the mystery of culture that has been the providence of anthropologists for the past century and a half.But, the notion was birth by a scientist (Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene [1977]), and this alone is enough to distance some potentially interested parties from the humanities and social sciences.Darwinizing Culture is at once the reiteration and clarification of the memetic theory (although most of the authors only work to obscure the idea in their work, pulling it in one direction or another - for their very particular use) and a series of arguments against memetic theory as it stands, as well as an argument against those theorists, isolated in the sciences, who so often find the idea attractive, and distanced from previous theories of culture and cultural development.

The collection brings together pieces from Susan Blackmore (author of The Meme Machine [Oxford, 1999]), Henry Plotkin, David Hull, and Dan Sperber, as well as many other younger theorists, all succeeding a rather terse foreword by Daniel Dennet - one of memetic theories greatest proponents.Aunger's introduction and conclusion to the collection are both wonderful contributions, and help to establish the debate, both contemporaneously and historically, for both memes enthusiasts and those new to the field.Blackmore's piece is an afterword to her earlier study, in part working to refute critics who found fault with her prior book-length examination, and as such, while it helps to provide a continuity for the debate, sets the tone of the collection, and that is one of distress.The collection effectively critiques itself by including both sides of the debate, which is admirable, but rather than clearing the slate, as Aunger hopes the collection will, it surely asks the reader to choose a side, and those ideologies are clearly demarcated by academic alignments.But that is not to say that the collection fails to be useful - in fact, quite the contrary: there are a number of essays (and I'm inclined to include them all in this), that help the conceptual understanding of the field on one level or another, but as they are in constant dialogue with one another, this utility is constantly compromised.

But, like every anthology, there is a single essay that stands out from the rest for its sheer insight and applicability, and in this case it is Kevin Laland and John Odling-Smee's innocuously titled "The Evolution of the Meme."Laland and Odling-Smee expand on Richard Dawkins' notion of the "extended phenotype" (from The Extended Phenotype [1982]), positing that the cultural artifacts that are created by civilization influence (and possible cause) both cultural and biological evolution.It sounds deceptively simple, but the premise is that by creating artifacts that alter the environment, simply by their sheer presence, the evolution of that culture is irreparable altered, always needing to incorporate the presence and utility of that artifact.With the explosion of artifacts endemic of consumer capitalism, our cultural evolution has been dramatically influenced, and Laland and Odling-Smee provide an interesting hypothesis to explain this sort of transformation in culture (and consciousness - surely Marshall McLuhan would agree with their suppositions).

If there is a fault with the collection, it is simply that the debate over memetics is a rather closed sphere - the majority of the essays cite the author's previous contribution to the field, or one or another of the other included authors.If nothing else, the contributions by Sperber and Adam Kuper should influence this, and hopefully encourage the steady incorporation of more anthropologically minded sources.

While the collection is at times rather tiresome for a meme enthusiast, and especially so for students of culture, who must deal with various reiterations of basic tenants of anthropology, it would seem to provide a comprehensive introduction to both the idea and the debates surrounding the idea for those new to the field.And for the meme enthusiast, especially for those schooled in the sciences, the arguments of Sperber and Kuper are especially important, bringing in more anthropological basis for this understanding.

A serious book on memes
From the book cover:"In the past couple of years, there has been an explosion of interest in 'memes'. However, the one thing noticeably missing has been any kind of proper debate over the validity of a concept many regard as scientifically suspect. Darwinizing Culture pits leading intellectuals (both supporters and opponents of meme theory) against each other to battle it out, and state their case. With a Foreword by Daniel Dennett, and contributions from Dan Sperber, David Hull, Robert Boyd, Susan Blackmore, Henry Plotkin, and others, the result is a thrilling and challenging debate that will perhaps mark a turning point for the field."

From the reviews: "This is a book to be read by anybody with a serious interest in the future of the subject . . .Darwinizing Culture is to my knowledge the first book to attempt a thorough critical appraisal of the potential of the subject. It is essential reading for anyone contemplating a first exploration of the area, and I hope it will be read and taken to heart by all those enthusiasts who gaily promulgate the internet discussions [of memes]. Nine content chapters by an eminent team of contributors are sandwiched between very able introductory and concluding editorial chapters, and although they run the full range from enthusiasm to condemnation, they give memetics a pretty rough ride overall. Indeed, it is a tribute to Robert Aunger that, for an editor who must have some leanings towards the charms of memetics, a selection of contributors has been chosen in such a way as to provide a rich, interdisciplinary set of critical analyses that pull no punches. Whatever headway memetics makes in future, it will not be for want of having both its strengths and weaknesses rigorously exposed and weighed at this juncture." -- Andrew Whiten, Times Higher Education Supplement for May 18, 2001

"It is hard to criticize a book that criticizes itself so fully; indeed, despite my disagreements with individual authors, Aunger's strength is to bring together a diversity of views so that most points are fully addressed . . .[The book ] is to be applauded for the refreshing, conservative approach to a field that lends itself to speculation and exaggeration." -- Simon Reader, Trends in Cognitive Sciences 5:8:365-366 ... Read more

Isbn: 0192632442
Sales Rank: 411385
Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Cognitive Psychology    3. Life Sciences - Evolution    4. Memetics    5. Social Science    6. Social perception    7. Sociology    8. Sociology - Social Theory    9. Evolution    10. Philosophy & theory of psychology    11. Sociology, Social Studies   

Science as a Process : An Evolutionary Account of the Social and Conceptual Development of Science (Science and Its Conceptual Foundations series)
by David L. Hull
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Paperback (15 May, 1990)
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Editorial Review

Applies evolutionary models to the cultural and conceptualchange of intellectual communities. Essential reading for anyoneinterested in how ideas evolve, and how best to describe these processes rigorously. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A must-read book for anyone
The people thinks that the science is only for scientist. Nothing's far from that. In this book we can learn how the science involves people and their relationships, personal or not. Some parts of the book are funny,some are amazing. Did you already read "On the origin....", itdoes not matter, read the Hull's book!, and then any"about-evolution-book" you want, you'll read with other mind. ... Read more

Isbn: 0226360512
Subjects:  1. Life Sciences - Evolution    2. Science    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Science / Evolution   

Explaining Culture: A Naturalistic Approach
by Dan Sperber
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Paperback (01 November, 1996)
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Reviews (3)

A Level of Analysis
Like all academic books Explaining Culture does not contain all the information relevant to the topic, or even the authors own position. To expect otherwise would be, well, catestrophically misunderstanding language for one thing. On this point for those studying social sciences (or the relevant aspects of philosophy, cognitive science, psychology etc etc etc) it is imperitive that you examine the broader conyext of Sperbers work. Especially his (convincing) argument against the memic approach to culture. The account of this argument in Explaining Culture is far to brief to carry its full weight.

This book attempts (amognst other things) to bridge the gap between the social and cognitive sciences (obviously this should not be read as any endorsment of radical explanatory reductionism) by providing at least the outline of the causal interaction between public and mental representations. There is particular focus on how the distribution of public representations (modelled by an epidemiology approach) is effected by cognitive factors. This is desperately needed in order to further our understanding of the mind (and culture).

Ultimately Sperber's account falls short. This we would expect given that this is, as Sperber says, an atteempt to get a new science of the ground. However, i propose that a change is needed in Sperber's approach if he wishes his endevour to succeed. Sperber takes much inspiration from the progress of the functionalist (classicist) paradigm in cognitive science. I propose that in order to understand how the relationship between public and mental representations can be computational (thus properly causal and respect the content of the representations involved) it is necessary to consider Sperber's approach within a connectionst paradigm. I am not going to argue for this position here, rather i will make a request, that connectionists read this book and develop the ideas further.

Yet another science of culture
Sperber wants to make anthropology and psychology partners in the construction of a theory of culture centered on 'the epidemiology of beliefs'.Epidemiology examines the factors determining the frequency anddistribution of diseases in a population.Similarly, the aspiringculturology will map the frequency and distribution of beliefs in apopulation.

The choice of epidemiology as the model science seems to bebased on nothing more than the insinuations of English idiom.Idiom likensthe spread of ideas to contagion.We say that ideas, moods, personalities,and fads are infectious.Rumor and disaffection spread like fevers throughthe body politic.Cheerfulness is contagious-smile and the world smileswith you.But usage provides no clue to causality.It is equally contentwith mechanical metaphors, such as the 'band wagon effect' and the 'climateof opinion', while outbreaks of frenzy, mania or hysteria are likened tofloods, cyclones and wild fire.Idioms are heedless of the differencebetween plague and weather as transmission mechanisms.Oddly for ananthropologist, Sperber takes no notice of these clues to how the nativesperceive thought transmission.An assessment must be made if we are toavoid confounding 'good enough' idiomatic analogies with causal mechanisms.

My suspicion that epidemiology is a red herring deepened on readingSperber's account of the new culturology.On pages 109 and 112 heintroduces graphs representing the spread and transformation of beliefsunder the influence of 'attractors'.Attractors are characterized in twoways.In one statement, an attractor is 'an abstract, statistical concept,like a mutation rate or a transformation probability' (p. 111).Not muchis said about it.A cultural attractor, however, is a specific practice ormodel.Manners, rituals, architectural styles, and resource-richenvironments illustrate.Sperber has more to say about culturalattractors.A piece of culture is likely to become an attractor to theextent that it is the shortest distance between an initial condition and abeneficial outcome.This concept is usually called 'optimality', but theauthor calls it the 'effect-effort balance', where the 'processing of anygiven piece of information determines its degree of relevance' becausebehavior tends toward actions in which 'the intended effect can be achievedat minimal cost' (p. 114).Many attractors are unique to individuals;others, as gene-linked algorithms, cut deep channels through allpopulations, e.g., critical learning times and courtship strategies.Thestability of cultural practices, he advises, is due to the fact that theyare 'attracted' to these natural psychological channels and their presumedneural or genetic substrates.

Sperber provides a three page expositionmeant to illustrate the difference between replication and transformation,and the stable combination of replication and transformation processes in apopulation.The combinatorial space is represented by a cellular matrix. He assigns cell types in some arbitrary quantity, and combinatorialpossibilities to each type.The matrix now describes a combinatorial statespace.An engine is needed to activate cell 'growth'.Sperber doesn't saywhat the engine is, but once it starts, the initial random distribution ofcells in the matrix begins to alter.With each generation (or turn of theengine's wheel), the distribution of cell types changes.Patterns emergeas iterations continue; eventually we see patterns aggregating around twoattractors.What is happening here?Sperber's matrix reminded me ofcellular automata, the discovery by John Conway that led to nonlinearinterpretations of game theory.Cellular automata with simplecombinatorial instructions programmed into computer graphics are capable ofremarkable behavior.Some instructions yield homogeneity, some expressfractal self-similarity, and still others cross the boundary betweenstability and chaos to bifurcate into ramified local structures in thebasins of chaotic attractors.The engines of these transformations arerecursive nonlinear equations.Could this be the inspiration of attractiontheory?In footnote 34, p. 158 he writes: 'Sophisticated notions ofattractors . . . have been developed in complex systems dynamics [akanonlinear theory, chaos theory, self-organization theory, fractals theory],and may well turn out to be of future use in modelling cultural evolution,but a very elementary notion of an attractor will do for the presentpurpose'.Oh dear!So much for 'science'!

If Sperber's effort to raisea new science doesn't come off, does he present some concrete insights onthe transmission of thought?I'm afraid the answer is No, at least for me. I found no discussion of recognized types of transmission-panics, crazes,cults, sports mania, medical scares, propaganda, advertising, mobbing, andthe like.As for identifying the transmission microprocesses, his messageis confused.Cultural germ theorists like Richard Dawkins don't identifythe somatic process corresponding to infectious disease.Sperber has analternative cognitivist position: he proposes that inferences mediatecognitive processing.But what do inferences operate on?On sensorimotorinformation.Many inferences are already 'in' the senses.Here is theclue to the fugitive microprocesses obscured by epidemiology.Thenonmetaphorical term is 'communication'.Communication isn't pathogenicand medical models aren't relevant.

It seems to me that Sperber'sculturology doesn't really get off the ground.

Hiram Caton GriffithUniversity

superb sperber
Simply brilliant; Dan Sperber brings his realist view to an area which has previously been explained away with mystic, relativistic stances. Recommended reading for all cultural studies students ... Read more

Isbn: 0631200452
Sales Rank: 415403
Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Cognition and culture    3. Cognitive psychology    4. Culture    5. Education    6. Social evolution    7. Sociology    8. Sociology - Social Theory   

The Meme Machine
by Richard Dawkins, Susan Blackmore
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Paperback (01 May, 2000)
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In The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins proposed the concept of the meme as a unit of culture, spread by imitation. Now Dawkins himself says of Susan Blackmore:

Showing greater courage and intellectual chutzpah than I have ever aspired to, she deploys her memetic forces in a brave--do not think foolhardy until you have read it--assault on the deepest questions of all: What is a self? What am I? Where am I? ... Any theory deserves to be given its best shot, and that is what Susan Blackmore has given the theory of the meme.

Blackmore is a parapsychologist who rejects the paranormal, a skeptical investigator of near-death experiences, and a practitioner of Zen. Her explanation of the science of the meme (memetics) is rigorously Darwinian. Because she is a careful thinker (though by no means dull or conventional), the reader ends up with a good idea of what memetics explains well and what it doesn't, and with many ideas about how it can be tested--the very hallmark of an excellent science book. Blackmore's discussion of the "memeplexes" of religion and of the self are sure to be controversial, but she is (as Dawkins says) enormously honest and brave to make a connection between scientific ideas and how one should live one's life. --Mary Ellen Curtin ... Read more

Reviews (75)

A new dimension in evolutionary change
Building on an idea first expressed in Richard Dawkins's famous book The Selfish Gene, Susan Blackmore constructs an astonishingly strong case for the importance of memes as a major driving force in the evolution of human behaviour and culture. Memes were first proposed as small scraps of culture, like the first four notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, with the capacity to spread themselves through populations in a manner somewhat similar to the capacity of genes to spread themselves through a breeding population. The analogy seemed forced and far-fetched to many readers: yes, memes can spread themselves; yes, they undergo mutations as they proliferate; but in other respects the similarity to genes seemed rather strained. For a long time, therefore, memes seemed to be among Dawkins's less good ideas.

Blackmore decided to take memes seriously, and has built up a good case for believing that they need to be taken seriously. She maintains that they can explain some puzzling aspects of human behaviour. Atruism, for example, has always presented a problem, as altruistic behaviour towards strangers certainly exists, although it apparently provides a negligible benefit for a a significant cost. Studies of cooperation initiated by Robert Axelrod's famous competition certainly help, but it is not clear that they help enough: they can certainly explain, in terms of pure self-interest, why a calculating individual might be nice to other individuals with whom interaction in the future is to be expected, but why be nice to individuals with whom no future interaction is likely? Why worry about saving tigers from extinction, when we can be certain that the tigers will not reciprocate? Blackmore argues that this cannot be explained on a gene-centred view, but it can be explained in terms of memes acting in their own interests.

Another well known problem that she attacks is the big brain in humans, and the appearance of language. Did the big brain come first? If so, what was the driving force? If language came first, and the big brain was required to improve language use, then what was the original driving force to select a language-enabled ape? Simplifying greatly (probably too much) Blackmore's idea is that imitation of the behaviour of others came first, and that it was so advantageous that there was selection for the best imitators, and that this in turn drove selection both for larger brains and for more efficient use of language.

This explains so much!
I violently disagreed with Susan Blackmore's premise, but by the time I got to the chapter on Altruism, I realised I was wrong.This is the single most thought-provoking book I've read since Robert Wright's The Moral Animal.

Remarkable eluicidation
What is noteworthy about this book is how far it goes in extending memetics, without hysterically overvaluing it, and how very clear her elucidation of many abstruse evolutionary ideas were.
For her boldness and clairity, I give her five stars. ... Read more

Isbn: 019286212X
Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Behavior evolution    3. Imitation    4. Life Sciences - Biology - General    5. Life Sciences - Evolution - Human    6. Memetics    7. Science    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Sociology    10. Sociology - Social Theory    11. Anthropology    12. Learning    13. Metaphysics & ontology    14. Popular science   

Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life
by Daniel C. Dennett
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Paperback (12 June, 1996)
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One of the best descriptions of the nature and implications of Darwinian evolution ever written, it is firmly based in biological information and appropriately extrapolated to possible applications to engineering and cultural evolution. Dennett's analyses of the objections to evolutionary theory are unsurpassed. Extremely lucid, wonderfully written, and scientifically and philosophically impeccable. Highest Recommendation! ... Read more

Reviews (124)

arrogance goes with the territory, but hypocrisy is too much
Despite Dennett's smug tone, this wide-ranging study of the nature and influence of evolutionary theory does benefit from his philosophical analysis.Particularly interesting for me, as someone who works with probabilities, was his description of 'actualism', the doctrine that '_only_ the actual is possible'; ie anything which did not happen _could_not_ have happened.However, I couldn't stomach Dennett's sustained personal attack on Stephen Jay Gould, and stopped reading at the description of his supposed 'bully-pulpit'.I suggest you read both authors and decide for yourself who's the bully.

Required Reading
This is by far the very best book on Darwinism (and its implications) I've ever read. Not only is there fascinating detail about the (algorithmic) mechanism of Natural Selection, there is extensive discusison of the implications of Darwinism on the way we perceive the Universe. Brilliant and incredibly readable. Should be required reading in every college in the country.

A must
It is always useful to read the thoughts of a clever and honest man. Only recommended for those who are not afraid of looking at themselves scientifically. ... Read more

Isbn: 068482471X
Subjects:  1. Evolution (Biology)    2. General    3. History & Surveys - General    4. Human evolution    5. Life Sciences - Evolution    6. Natural selection    7. Philosophy    8. Science    9. Science/Mathematics    10. Science / General   

The Selfish Gene
by Richard Dawkins
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Paperback (01 September, 1990)
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Editorial Review

Inheriting the mantle of revolutionary biologist from Darwin, Watson,and Crick, Richard Dawkins forced an enormous change in the way we see ourselves and the world with the publication of The Selfish Gene. Suppose, instead of thinking about organisms using genes to reproduce themselves, as we had since Mendel's work was rediscovered, we turn it around and imagine that "our" genes build and maintain us in order to make more genes. That simple reversal seems to answer many puzzlers which had stumped scientists for years, and we haven't thought of evolution in the same way since.

Why are there miles and miles of "unused" DNA within each of our bodies? Why should a bee give up its own chance to reproduce to help raise her sisters and brothers? With a prophet's clarity, Dawkins told us the answers from the perspective of molecules competing for limited space and resources to produce more of their own kind. Drawing fascinating examples from every field of biology, he paved the way for a serious re-evaluation of evolution. He also introduced the concept of self-reproducing ideas, or memes, which (seemingly) use humans exclusively for their propagation. If we are puppets, he says, at least we can try to understand our strings. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (171)

Explains the ultimate reasons for human behavior
Some reviewers claim they suffered depression after exposure to Dawkins' book. I had the opposite reaction. I thought, "ah-ha! so that's how it all works!" Human behavior that formerly seemed inexplicable to me, particularly the behavior of females which caused considerable bewilderment, becomes comprehensible once you view humans as survival machines whose primary, if not sole, purpose is the replication of individual genes. This book explains society, customs, family, friends, and enemies far better than any other book I have read. I would think anyone who is depressed should find solace from this book, if they interpret its implications properly.

***Dawkin's book, despite its title, does NOT posit that we humans are doomed to the usual, narrow definition of selfishness, or what we think of as evil.*** He is NOT advocating social Darwinism and does not even go there, scrupulously avoiding modern politics for the most part. He is a scientist and writes like one.

If you are searching for some kind of philosophy to take home from this book, you will be disappointed, because Dawkins is interested in understanding the real world, not in advocacy, the domain of political junkies. However, one of the scientific findings he discusses is the effectiveness of "enlightened selfishness" (my words, not his), in which altruism is rewarded by the benefits of cooperation, and is often proven in experiments to be the best strategy of all. This is an UPLIFTING and optimistic message of HOPE, by Cracky! Whoever gets depressed reading this obviously skipped several chapters!

He points out that the sharedness of genes means that, by helping others, particularly kin who share many of our genes, a survival machine like ourself quite often furthers the replication of our own genes.

Awareness of evolution helps us understand the nature of humankind, human social behavior, and the reasons for the existence of good and evil. Without evolutionary theory, many things simply can never be adequately explained. We need not "take things personally" or feel "bad" about the actions of others, if all of us are nothing but puppets of cruel gods (genes).

The author would shudder at my simplifications above, which, if I were writing a long essay, I would certainly take pains to clarify. Dawkins reveals himself to be thin-skinned to both criticism and misinterpretations. He is, rightfully, circumspect--occasionally to the point of being tedious. I almost put his book down while trudging through the first three chapters, where Dawkins seemed to plod too cautiously, as if fearful of being called before a Church Court like Galileo. I kept thinking, "Come on, Dawkins, get to the !#$*% point already." But he writes with more conciseness in later chapters.

Most of Dawkin's conclusions have been co-opted by the scientific media and frankly, about half of the book was not news to me. But there are stunning insights to be had. I find myself frequently thinking about his ideas in my spare time.

This book is indeed the best in its class, which is why I award five stars. I plan to re-read several times over the years in order to fully absorb all the astounding implications raised. Other attempts in philosophy, religion or psychology to explain human behavior pale in comparison.

I plan to purchase other books of Dawkins. If they are even half as good, they are probably worth whatever price is being asked. Preach on, Dawkins, preach on. I have finally found a worthy successor to Carl Sagan!

Prepare to be challenged
Well, what can I say, eye opening stuff.

This is powerful stuff to because it explains so much and is so contrary to a lot of our social programming.

I can see how religious types would not like the book too much - it challenges every belief about the existence of God. In saying that, I find life is much easier when you structure your belief system around a number of different viewpoints. This way, you can save yourself from trying to navigate through life with a limited way of looking at things. People who approach life with a degree of fundamentalism would disagree but sometimes other views have weight.

The science behind the notion of replicators that are selfish in nature explains competition, altruistic behaviour and that the single most important determinant in sexual selection is the genes.

What a revelation - our bodies control our minds and not the other way around. This only makes sense if humans are considered animals (or robots that carry genes as the book describes).

People who feel challenged by this book shouldn't feel down about the meaning of life and all that stuff (as one reviwer was depressed over 10 years), because if you're here then in the grand scheme of evolution you are a success! The weak wouldn't have made it this far.

A Must Read For Educated People
Since there are 170 reviews on file the content of this wonderful book has been covered. I want to address the vast influence this book and author have had on the thinking and perceptions of modern thinkers.
It has been said that reading a good writer makes the reader feel smart. This is especially true of Dawkins. The complex world of biology and evoluton is made clear and breathtaking in it's beauty. For fans of the wonderful science programs of David Attenborough on BBC Dawkins' writings are the literary equivalant.
This book has had influence on many famous writers such as Philosopher Daniel Dennett. While mis-represented and mis- quoted nearly as often as Darwin himself, Dawkins remains the master of clarifying evolution. Don't fall prey to those who would (as Kipling so aptly expressed it)twist the truths you've (Dawkins)spoken to make a trap for fools. Read this book. It could change your life. If you haven't read it before, it will change and clarify your thinking. ... Read more

Isbn: 0192860925
Subjects:  1. Evolution    2. Evolution (Biology)    3. Genetics    4. Life Sciences - Evolution    5. Life Sciences - Genetics & Genomics    6. Life Sciences - Zoology - General    7. Science    8. Sociobiology    9. Genetics (non-medical)    10. Medical genetics    11. Philosophy of science    12. Popular science    13. Zoology & animal sciences   

Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme
by Richard Brodie
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 September, 1995)
list price: $22.00 -- our price: $22.00
(price subject to change: see help)
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Editorial Review

If you've ever wondered how and why people become robotically enslaved by advertising, religion, sexual fantasy, and cults, wonder no more. It's all because of "mind viruses," or "memes," and those who understand how to plant them into other's minds.This is the first truly accessible book about memes and how they make the world go 'round.

Of course, like all good memes, the ideas in Brodie's book are double-edged swords.They can vaccinate against the effects of cognitive viruses, but could also be used by those seeking power to gain it even more effectively. If you don't want to be left behind in the coevolutionary arms race between infection and protection, read about memes. ... Read more

Reviews (57)

Forget this product . Don't u have better things to do?
This product was a waste of the obvious. The book is joke. How are you going to teach using the "adventures of eggbert" and making example which are irrelevant to your point? Plus most of it is theory and very opinionated. Very opionated. He himself is infected with the "money" meme. He constantly shamelessly promotes his book "getting past okay". The book was designed for a person with a reading level below average. Unless you like to read inaccurate outdated information don't waste your money. I would suggest to u don't buy this book . Try getting another book. One actually written with someone with a PHD in that department , not by a second rate hack who got removed from micosoft. After all wat does a programmer really know about pyscology compared to a PHD pyscology proffesor like David J. Liberman?

Kobolds Laying the Smackdown at Burgermaster
This book is the ultimate Memetics Manual, the first is the best. It gives you specific details on monsters. Being that I only have 2 hit points, I have to pick my monsters carefully. Once, while at Burgermaster, a kolbold threw a burger at me with his sling. He rolled a 20, a critical hit, and the burger did 2x the normal damage, knocking me out for 2 hp! As I lay unconcious, a gelatinous cube slowly slimed my burger and fries up. When I came to, I saw him slowly digesting my burger and fries and I exclaimed "How rude!" But the Gelatinous cube just rumbled his gelationous bulbous stomach at me. I would have kicked it's ass, but luckily the Monster Manual told me that would've been a bad idea to use my hands. So instead I used my bic lighter and he apologized for eating my combo #1.

Excellent material, poorly developed and argued
As an introduction to memetics, Virus of the Mind presents the reader with a very approachable description of the basic mechanics of memes/selfish genes as originally articulated by Dawkins in The Selfish Gene. Brodie summarizes Dawkins' theory accurately, but when he attempts to come to new, perhaps 'interesting' conclusions, he falls well short of what the material deserves. Where the first half of the book demonstrates something of a mastery of the concepts, the last speaks of a serious lack of creativity. Brodie fails to question some of his own central memes, and ends up coming to dubious conclusions as a result. Read "The Selfish Gene" instead. ... Read more

Isbn: 0963600117
Subjects:  1. Contagion (Social psychology)    2. Genetic psychology    3. Memetics    4. Psychology    5. Psychology (Specific Aspects)    6. Public opinion    7. Social psychology    8. Sociology    9. Sociology - General   

The Imitation Factor: Evolution Beyond The Gene
by Lee Alan Dugatkin
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (08 January, 2001)
list price: $25.00
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Editorial Review

Everyone knows "monkey see, monkey do," but how many of us reflect on the proverb's consequences? Biologist Lee Alan Dugatkin asks just how different animals can be from humans if they engage, as they seem to, in cultural transmission of behavior. Long thought to be one of the last barriers between H. sapiens and the rest of the family, imitation can be found even in fish--and Dugatkin's book, The Imitation Factor: Evolution Beyond the Gene, explores the research on the subject and its implications. His straightforward, accessible style serves him and the reader well. Though there are no tough equations or metaphysical concepts to bar the way to understanding, the delicacy of behavioral research can be tricky to communicate properly. Summarizing his points, he says:

The zoological work on cultural evolution reveals strange and even amazing facts about animals no matter how large or small their brains are--indeed, some just barely have what we can call a brain. The actions of a few individuals, or even just a single one, can dramatically shift the evolutionary future of a particular population fundamentally because individuals are keen copiers.

The author presents his own and others' research into imitative learning and makes a compelling case for its ubiquity. He suggests that a vast range of behavioral science is hampered by its reliance on biological (especially genetic) explanations, and that researchers would do well to sift more carefully between nature and nurture. It's an intriguing notion, and makes The Imitation Factor well worth reading--and besides, everyone else is doing it. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Imitation and Beyond
Lee Alan Dugatkin is a first-rate animal behavior experimentalist whose specialty is the guppy, as well as a game-theoretic modeler. Most welcome is Dugatkin's talent for popular exposition of animal behavior research.

This book is a very general exposition of animal behavior theory for the general public, with a special emphasis on epigenetic transmission of information, which Dugatkin equates with cultural transmission. He does quite a good job, and I would recommend this book to curious newcomers to the field. Dugatkin is especially good at weaving general themes (e.g., the various explanations of mate choice) with the specifics of particular
experiments.

My concern here will be as an animal behaviorist whose specialty is human beings. Humans come into the picture in the first sentence of Dugatkin's book: "We desperately want to think of ourselves as somehow distinct from other life forms on our planet...Currently there is the sense that we are unique because

"culture" is found only in humans...As we shall see, culture is not humanity's gift to the universe." (p. ix). There is no doubt but that Dugatkin is correct, and indeed, it is impossible to understand human culture as divorced from the broad sweep of cultural phenomena across species. The attempt to do so is a major flaw in sociological and anthropological approaches to human culture--but that is another story to tell.

While Dugatkin's assertion is correct, and his efforts to motivate his position are quite successful, it is curious that he does not place his argument in intellectual context. John Tyler Bonner's pathbreaking The Evolution of Culture in Animals (Princeton University Press 1984) is not mentioned, nor is Eva Jablonka and Marion Lamb's ambitious Epigenetic Inheritance and Evolution (Oxford University Press 1995) are not mentioned.
Nor is the Baldwin effect, which is a major causal link from culture to genes (Baldwin, "A New Factor in Evolution", American Naturalist 30 1896).

Dugatkin is quite orthodox in taking the gene-culture coevolution definition of culture as "information", a definition anchored in the two great contributions of Cavalli-Sforza and Feldman, Cultural Transmission and Evolution (Princeton University Press, 1981), and Boyd and Richerson, Culture and the Evolutionary Process (University of Chicago Press, 1985). In brief, this view holds that culture is information concerning the organism's physical and biological environment. While the basic biological information transmission mechanism is genetic inheritance, epigenetic transmission may also be fitness enhancing, and when it is, we can expect cultural transmission in animals. I do not dispute the fact that culture includes epigenetic information transmission. For instance, as Dugatkin stresses the tendency for previously mated male guppies to be desirable to unmated females may be due to the fact that older female guppies "teach" younger females who the desirable males are (although there are other plausible explanations of this phenomenon). I do believe, however, that (a) imitation in animals is categorically distinct from the "teaching" and "learning" that typically occurs in human cultural transmission; and (b) the culture-as-information definition of culture is considerably too narrow to embrace all of human culture, and misses what is particularly unique about human culture.

On the first point, most animal behaviorists have come to accept the idea that, pace bird imitations of vocalizations, animals do not imitate complex learned behavior directly. Rather, the contiguity of an individual to a conspecific carrying out a particular learned behavior increases the probability that the individual will stumble upon the same behavior. For instance, if a chimp discovers how to use a stone to smash open a food item,
her child will be frequently in situations where stones and the food item are contiguous, and hence is more likely to discover the complex behavior. But the behavior is neither "learned" from the parent, or "taught" by the parent to the child. For more on this topic, the reader might refer to Tomasello and Call, Primate Cognition (Oxford University Press 1997), Daniel Povinelli, Folk Physics for Apes: The Chimpanzee's Theory of How the World Works (Oxford 2000), and Marc Hauser, Wild Minds: What Animals Really Think (Henry Holt, 2000).

The most distinctive characteristic of human culture, however, is the existence of ethical norms and values. A value such as "dress modestly," "work hard and do not succumb to temptations that yield only short-run pleasures," and "forgive those who transgress upon you," are deeply cultural forms, but they do not involve objective information about the world. Unlike a technique, such as how to fashion a tool, where to look for prey, or what types of things are edible, an ethical value has no scientific truth value. Of course, one might assert that if one follows a certain norm, certain material results will obtain (e.g., long life, good after-life, high fitness, happiness), but humans follow norms for their own sake, and
even when these good results are not expected. In sociology this is called the internalization of norms (see, for instance, Grusec and Kuczynski, Parenting and Children's Internalization of Values: A Handbook of Contemporary Theory, John Wily & Sons 1997). The human capacity to internalize norms is thus akin to the programmability of human goals, since the key factor in an internalized value is that people \emph{conform to the prescribed behavior for its own sake, and as a goal of action, rather than a means towards the realization of other goals. As I argue in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Altruism: Genes, Culture, and the Internalization of Norms", Journal of Theoretical Biology 220,4 (2003):407-418, the programmability of the preference function is key to human prosocial behavior, quite on par with the accumulation and transmission of the types of cultural techniques associated with improving the ability to exploit the physical and natural environment.

I would have preferred that Dugatkin include in his analysis both the factors leading to a commonality of culture across species, and the factors involved in the special cultural position of humans, but just dealing with the first of these makes for a quite informative and interesting contribution.

Guppy culture
Lee Alan Dugatkin has spent the last ten years studying imitation in guppies and in "The Imitation Factor" he explains his research and summarizes numerous other examples of imitation found in nature.His conclusion: even low intelligence animals like guppies can engage in the non-genetic transmission of behavior through imitation, and that transmission can have an impact on genetic evolution.

In carefully controlled experiments using guppies Dr. Dugatkin explores how the tendency to imitate other females in mate selection can override other mate selection preferences.Female guppies of a certain species prefer bright orange males over drab gray ones.Dugatkin places a female and a dull male in one corner of a tank and a bright male in the other and then allows a second female to observe the guppy groupings.Then the first female is removed and theobserver female is allowed to choose which male to go to. The observer female shows a greater tendency to select the male she saw with the first female (Yes there is a control to make certain that the observer is not just going to the side of the tank where there were two guppies).Further,after repeated exposure to females associated with drab males, the observer female shows a preference for drab males in general.

Beyond his own research Dugatkin also details the research of others on imitation in animals.Examples include some very carefully controlled experiments with pigeons poking open boxes to get food, blackbirds learning which animals are predators, numerous studies of chimpanzees and rats who learn which foods are edible from their presence on other rat's whiskers. In addition to those examples he also discusses when imitation is likely to a useful survival strategy, and points towards other researchers who have developed mathematical models for when imitation is more likely to occur and what affect it will can have on the evolution of a species.

Dugatkin is clearing attacking the idea proposed by others such as Susan Blackmore that humans are different from other animals because of the ability to imitate. If behavioral imitation is as common place as Dugatkin's evidence shows, these arguments are certainly erroneous. With his numerous examples and carefully controlled experiments Dugatkin does a very credible job of proving his point. I have just a few quibbles with this book.Dugatkin's definition of culture is a bit too loose for my preference.I would only count the guppies as being cultural because they can develop a general preference for drab males that can be transmitted, whereas Dugatkin would consider it culture even if the preference only applies to one male at a time. I am not certain under his definition whether a distinction can be made for fleeting imitation examples like observer animals moving when they see another member of their species fleeing something the observer can not see.I would hesitate to call that culture because their is nothing to pass from generation to generation.Similarly, while a general preference for drab males learned by observing females mating is something that could pass along indefinitely, a specific preference for a single male can only be passed along until while the male still lives.

In addition, although he does an excellent job with his own specialization he unwilling to fill the gap left if the concept ofhuman as super imitator idea is incorrect.Early on in the book he suggests that there might be two types of cultural evolution, that which he describes for guppies and other animals and a sort of 'runaway' cultural evolution which develops its own rules independent of genetic evolution, but he never really explains this distinction in any detail. Of course this is not the main thrust of his work anyway.

Overall though this book should be valuable reading for anyone interested in cultural evolution.Highly recommended.

Biological Reductivist
I am sure it's a good book.... if you like to take that leap from animals to humans in a essentialist, and reductivist sense. ... Read more

Isbn: 0684864533
Subjects:  1. Animal Behavior (Ethology)    2. Animal behavior    3. Life Sciences - Biology - General    4. Life Sciences - Evolution    5. Organic Evolution    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Science / General   

Thought Contagion: How Belief Spreads Through Society
by Aaron Lynch
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 January, 1999)
list price: $17.00
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Editorial Review

Why do certain ideas become popular? The naive view is that it's because they're true, or at least justified. This fascinating book, influenced by evolutionary biology and epidemiology, is the first full-scale examination of some of the other reasons. Consider Aaron Lynch's example of optimism--it may not be true or warranted, but it tends to prevail because optimists tend to have more children to pass along their outlook to. Sometimes, Lynch points out, there is a paradoxical but predictable expansion-contraction pattern to the social spread of ideas. If nothing else, lobbyists need to look into this stuff to see which side their bread is really buttered on. Warning: this book is densely written. But it's worth the wade. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Profoundly thought provoking
This book is a rare gem, providing the general reader with an interesting and valuble way of looking at the sometimes mysterious cults of popularity that many ideas including religions, taboos and politics engender. This is not a scholarly work (although it is based on substantial research) but a more of an introduction for the lay person to memetics.

I first read it when it first came out about 10 years ago, and likeEric K. Drexler's "Engines of Creation" it has kept echoing in my mind ever since.

Banal and trite - look at Goffman's work for the real thing
This book is a poor exposition of a poor theory. The idea of a viral analogue for ideas spreading is not that profound (it's a kind of lightweight analogy that fails to identify the nature of the host, the nature of the contagion, the nature of the conversion etc). If you want to read the best account of the standard Meme theory, then read Dawkin's Selfish Gene.

However, rather than that you might want to go back to a genuine mathematical epidemic model for the spread of beliefs. This was put forward by Goffman et in 1967-71 in a series of papers in Nature and other journals, analysing the spread of symbolic logic through Europe in the 19th century - these are very interesting to read in and of themselves, but also show why the Meme theory is insufficient in and of itself. Refs are

GOFFMAN, W., and NEWILL, V.A. Communication and epidemic processes. Proc. Royal Soc. A 298 (May 1967), pp316-334.

GOFFMAN, W. Mathematical approach to the spread of scientific ideas. Nature. 212 (Oct. 1966), pp449-452

GOFFMAN, W. A Mathematical Method for Analyzing the Growth of a Scientific Discipline (JACM 18(2) April 1971 pp12-28

GOFFMAN, W., & HARMON, G. Mathematical approach to the prediction of scientific discovery. Nature, 229, 1971 103-104.

GOFFMAN, W., & WARREN, K. S. Scientific information systems and the principle of selectivity (pp. 22-25). New York, NY: Praeger Publishers. 1980

GOFFMAN, W., & KATZ, M. J. Performance of ontogenetic patterns. Philosophy of Science, 48, 1981 438-453.

There is also a use of the system to examine the spread of the APL mathematical programming language in J. C. Rault and G. Demars - Is APL epidemic? or a study of its growth through an extended bibliography in the Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on APL 1972 pp1-21 1972, which revisits the idea with 400 references drawn from the literature

60 years out of date
When sociobiologists finally conceded that reductionalism could not quite be explained by genes, they had found a new holy ground with people like Lynch and Dawkins.The problem here is that what Lynch advocates is at least 60 years out of date.Cultural ecology, particularly, has moved much beyond garbage written in this pseudo-scientific book.Instead of evidence, we are given conjecture.What is worse is that this conjecture simply does not stand against the HRAF (Human Resource Area Files), an anthropological database of cultures.What Lynch presents as truths, is not found in the HRAF.His explanations DIRECTLY challenge 200 years of anthropology.His examples are terrible.Consider:

Memes that are against birth control "offer the clearest examples of the quantity parental effect. By raising extra babies, followers of these memes can outpopulate nonhosts across various times and places"

Roy Rappaport, as well as Marvin Harris would groan.Population control is likely as old as humans.Anyone even slightly familiar with Cultural Ecology knows that human populations of horticulturalists and hunter/gatherers go well below the carrying capacity.Although there are explanations for this, such as cyclical starvation, or the simple fact often raised that higher population would mean more work, they go _against_ Lynch's argument.Widespread infanticide and other methods of birth control are plentiful in the HRAF.It is true that humans could perform the rabbit strategy, but they DO NOT, which is a slap in the face to everything memes try to explain.

OR, consider: "Laws against eating shellfish, pork, and other parasite-laden animals may reduce morality rates, thus propagating the movement."

Marvin Harris who did earlier research actually went to the ethnographic databases to see HOW actual cultures behave.Result: pig taboos occurred in places where they competed with humans for food.Or consider cows, another parasite-laden animal, which cannot be eaten in places like India.After lengthy analysis, supported by QUANTIFIABLE data, the economics of eating cows just wouldn't make sense.Yet ANOTHER slap in the face for Lynch.

Lynch showcases problems of not only memes, but also of reductionalist neo-Darwinism.Its results continue to be unimpressive and unscientific to the extreme.

I recommend reading cultural ecologists; Marvin Harris, in particular, is a good place to start. ... Read more

Isbn: 0465084672
Subjects:  1. Contagion (Social psychology)    2. General    3. Memetics    4. Social Psychology    5. Social Science    6. Sociology    7. Sociology - General   

Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century
by HowardBloom
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (September, 2001)
list price: $16.95 -- our price: $11.53
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Editorial Review

When did big-picture optimism become cool again? While not blind to potential problems and glitches, Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind From the Big Bang to the 21st Century confidently asserts that our networked culture is not only inevitable but essential for our species' survival and eventual migration into space. Author Howard Bloom, believed by many to be R. Buckminster Fuller's intellectual heir, takes the reader on a dizzying tour of the universe, from its original subatomic particle network to the unimaginable data-processing power of intergalactic communication. His writing is smart and snappy, moving with equal poise through depictions of frenzied bacteria passing along information packets in the form of DNA and nomadic African tribespeople putting their heads together to find water for the next year.

The reader is swept up in Bloom's vision of the power of mass minds and, before long, can't help seeing the similarities between ecosystems, street gangs, and the Internet. Were Bloom not so learned and well-respected--more than a third of his book is devoted to notes and references, and luminaries from Lynn Margulis to Richard Metzger have lined up behind him--it would be tempting to dismiss him as a crank. His enthusiasm, the grand scale of his thinking, and his transcendence of traditional academic disciplines can be daunting, but the new outlook yielded to the persistent is simultaneously exciting and humbling. Bloom takes the old-school, sci-fi dystopian vision of group thinking and turns it around--Global Brain predicts that our future's going to be less like the Borg and more like a great party.--Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (32)

A journey through everything with one big mind...
Books about science: for the majority of them, the layman reader will either be overwhelmed, bored, or both. Regardless of the topic, may that be evolution, the string theory, astronomy, you name it.
This one here is decidingly different. It is so, because of the uncanny talent of the author to present one big and complex theory written almost laid back , with very creative style, one that grabs you and doesnt let go, first page to last.

H.Bloom had a formidable task ahead of him as he started his book. His theory alone was such that he needed to time-travel with the reader, while deviating in such diverse sectors as history, biology, psychology, sociology. All in a book's work.

Bloom claims that evolution's crucial leaps are based on the collective mind of a species and how it adapts, predicts and organises its society members in various situations. That's a controversial view to begin with as many evolutionists dont abide to this thought.

But Bloom does a tremendous job in not only the way he lays forth his expansive arguments but very convincingly showing that his arguments thoroughly work.
Bloom's thesis was in desperate need of strong paradigms from the get-go and he provides them in abundance. He shifts through the microbe and bacteria world to show that the incredible adaptiveness and survivability of these micro-organisms is due to their ability to "work" as a mass mind. The chapter on this is one of the most fascinating of the book.

Bloom knew all too well, that bacteria alone wouldn't do the trick. Nor would his examples of certain monkey species which owe their survival to pure imitation be ebough, examples which also include elephants and other species as well.

The big question for the naysayers was could he prove his point concerning the human species as well? In reality, even if Bloom hadn't included the human species at all in his thesis his case is close as it comes to shut-tight.
Concerning humans then, Bloom goes way back to the mountains of Sparta and its hardcore principles of weeding out the "weak" compared to those of Athens which kept a place for mostly everyone through a much more liberal system. From there on he progresses effortlessly towards modern times and doesn't lose a note in his effort. The final frontier is of course the internet, which Bloom claims is our biggest high-tech bid of mass mind processing. It becomes almost sci-fi by then (it certainly is pure reality of course) and it's a bombastic closing for a book that starts out in fascinating fashion and ends just in the same manner if not more so.

In the end, and as you reach the final chapter, you have the intense impression that you've had a hyper-exciting chat with a very insightful human being. Reading this book isn't simply a pleasure because of the comfortable and inviting style in which it is written but mainly because you emerge a more expanded mind by the time you're done. The charisma of Bloom to make you "think big" is beyond any question. He elevates you to great heights and makes you see life from way up there while thrusting you through many dimensions of reality, micro or macro.

I can go on and on, about why this is is one of the most important books on the market right now, but i hope the point has been laid out clearly enough. The hype preceeding this book and which started with the previous one (The Lucifer principle) is obviously 100% justified.

This is not for the Weak Brained
For the mass of the public, this book may seem difficult, at first, but I guarantee the read is well worth it. I am not a scientist, but I love reading about science and about the network between all creatures.

The Global Brain takes the reader from the very first life on earth and how it must have evolved. We are taken all the way through history to our current time.

The writing is serious, but sometimes becomes playful, all the while enlightening us with how all creatures are interconnected.

It is one of the most encouraging and comprehensive books, on this subject,of our time.

Marcielle Brandler, Author/Producer
www.webspawner.com/users/marcielle/

must read material
i read this book about 4 years ago, and it changed the way i think and analyze everything. it's by far the most important book i have ever read in my entire life. after reading it, i contacted howard blooom because i was so affected. i even went to his apartment in brooklyn one night to chat with him. he is a true genius.

even if you aren't interested in evolution, this book offers so much insight into humans, and systems in general. there is nothing in this book you can argue with. in fact, when i tell people about it, i point out that ONE THIRD of the book is the bibliography - this guy knows his stuff. anyway, this book should not only be read but enthusiastically recommended to every person who is interested in understanding life and reality in general. ... Read more

Isbn: 0471419192
Subjects:  1. Life Sciences - Evolution    2. Science    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Evolution    5. Human biology    6. Science / General