It's interesting that you brought up and then dismissed memes at the beginning of your post, as this concept of 'spirits' you describe is quite an apt description of memes. Memes are not just snippits of meaningless info propagated through the internet (O RLY?), but are units of cultural information that are thought to 'evolve' in a manner akin to genes. Many other things you've said make a certain amount of sense in this light; the behaviours of those who helped society advance are favored in this new society, and thus propagate more readily through the population.
As for the bit about these memes affecting genes, I think this connection is fairly obvious. Those whose genes predispose them to adopting a particularly successful behaviour will have an advantage over those who don't.
From one skeptic to (presumably) another, I have a hard time giving serious credit to an article reproduced on a website that also reproduces articles from the 1930s detailing the benefits of raw milk over pasteurized milk; in a peer-reviewed field, choosing your peers is important. While the linked article does indeed cite its sources, and the article's author does indeed seem to have legitimate credentials, the references for the article in question are all somewhat old; they span from the late 60s to early 90s, with only one reference written later than that (in 2000... from an online news site, not a peer-reviewed journal).
While I understand that science is about standing on the shoulders of giants, and that facts uncovered back in the day are still facts 50 years later, there have been amazing advances in molecular biology and biochemistry since the early 90s. I'd be interested to see what new facts have been uncovered that could shed a different light on the old facts referenced in this article. I don't doubt the veracity of the research, but I'm suspicious of the interpretation.
...Ocarina of Time is one of only three games I have ever played in which a few hours of gaming turned into an all-nighter. The others are Megaman X and Final Fantasy X. Of those three, I can easily say that OoT is the best.
...I'm so used to reading acronyms, and there are so many of them in the comments to posts like this, that I just spent way too long trying to figure out what the **** AGES stands for.
One of my friends does a similar thing when he gets these calls, but with a twist. Every once in a while, he picks up the phone and says "Thank you for holding; your call is important to us! Please stay on the line, and Mr. [NAME REMOVED] will be with you as soon as he's available."
You'd be amazed how often they stay on the line.
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It's interesting that you brought up and then dismissed memes at the beginning of your post, as this concept of 'spirits' you describe is quite an apt description of memes. Memes are not just snippits of meaningless info propagated through the internet (O RLY?), but are units of cultural information that are thought to 'evolve' in a manner akin to genes. Many other things you've said make a certain amount of sense in this light; the behaviours of those who helped society advance are favored in this new society, and thus propagate more readily through the population.
As for the bit about these memes affecting genes, I think this connection is fairly obvious. Those whose genes predispose them to adopting a particularly successful behaviour will have an advantage over those who don't.
From one skeptic to (presumably) another, I have a hard time giving serious credit to an article reproduced on a website that also reproduces articles from the 1930s detailing the benefits of raw milk over pasteurized milk; in a peer-reviewed field, choosing your peers is important. While the linked article does indeed cite its sources, and the article's author does indeed seem to have legitimate credentials, the references for the article in question are all somewhat old; they span from the late 60s to early 90s, with only one reference written later than that (in 2000... from an online news site, not a peer-reviewed journal). While I understand that science is about standing on the shoulders of giants, and that facts uncovered back in the day are still facts 50 years later, there have been amazing advances in molecular biology and biochemistry since the early 90s. I'd be interested to see what new facts have been uncovered that could shed a different light on the old facts referenced in this article. I don't doubt the veracity of the research, but I'm suspicious of the interpretation.
I get it. I still didn't laugh.
...Ocarina of Time is one of only three games I have ever played in which a few hours of gaming turned into an all-nighter. The others are Megaman X and Final Fantasy X. Of those three, I can easily say that OoT is the best.
...I'm so used to reading acronyms, and there are so many of them in the comments to posts like this, that I just spent way too long trying to figure out what the **** AGES stands for.
In fact, I doubt many people up here know what "Preakness" means. Sounds like a soft drink or something.
It always reminded me of the cookies
One of my friends does a similar thing when he gets these calls, but with a twist. Every once in a while, he picks up the phone and says "Thank you for holding; your call is important to us! Please stay on the line, and Mr. [NAME REMOVED] will be with you as soon as he's available." You'd be amazed how often they stay on the line.
I hate television. I hate it as much as I hate peanuts. But I can't stop eating peanuts. - Orson Welles