It’s true that the idea that the world might end is a meme with an interesting history and interesting properties. I’m not sure those interesting properties shed much light on whether the meme is true or not.
If you replace DOOM with GOD the memetic analysis seems quite illuminating to me.
Those who argue against GOD frequently mention the memetic analysis—e.g. see The God Delusion and Breaking The Spell—whereas the GOD SQUAD rarely do. It seems pretty obvious that that is because the memetic analysis hinders the propagation of their message.
You see the same thing here. Nobody is interested in discussing the possibility that their brains have been hijacked by the DOOM viurs. That may well be because their brains have been hijacked by the DOOM virus—and recognition of that fact might hinder the propagation of the DOOM message.
It’s true that the idea that the world might end is a meme with an interesting history and interesting properties. I’m not sure those interesting properties shed much light on whether the meme is true or not.
If you replace DOOM with GOD the memetic analysis seems quite illuminating to me.
Those who argue against GOD frequently mention the memetic analysis—e.g. see The God Delusion and Breaking The Spell—whereas the GOD SQUAD rarely do. It seems pretty obvious that that is because the memetic analysis hinders the propagation of their message.
You see the same thing here. Nobody is interested in discussing the possibility that their brains have been hijacked by the DOOM viurs. That may well be because their brains have been hijacked by the DOOM virus—and recognition of that fact might hinder the propagation of the DOOM message.