I made a prediction/formulated a hypothesis very early into the post:
The idea that you could intentionally create a cult was discovered early in the 20th century and many cults formed. The problems resulting from this type of social structure were discovered over time and people started to know about then and develop memetic antibodies (or what you want to call it). Thus creating cults became less promising/successful or other ways to be recognized as a cult were found/used.
The post didn’t make any significant points in this direction, thus I leave it here.
A similar hypothesis would be that we do not have the antibodies for cults as such, but for some manipulative techniques they use which are also commonly used in advertising.
That is, the antibody response is less like “this guy reminds me of Heaven’s Gate”, and more like “this guy reminds me of the washing powder commercial”.
My subjective experience seems to align more with Gunnar’s original hypothesis than the modified hypothesis you present; sure I have antibodies against advertising, but my cultural mileau growing up in California in the 00′s also provided me with a very strong dose of antibodies against cults specifically, and when I see cult-like ideas get discussed, my friends often respond with reactions from the cult-specific antibodies, rather than advertising-related antibodies.
I made a prediction/formulated a hypothesis very early into the post:
The post didn’t make any significant points in this direction, thus I leave it here.
A similar hypothesis would be that we do not have the antibodies for cults as such, but for some manipulative techniques they use which are also commonly used in advertising.
That is, the antibody response is less like “this guy reminds me of Heaven’s Gate”, and more like “this guy reminds me of the washing powder commercial”.
My subjective experience seems to align more with Gunnar’s original hypothesis than the modified hypothesis you present; sure I have antibodies against advertising, but my cultural mileau growing up in California in the 00′s also provided me with a very strong dose of antibodies against cults specifically, and when I see cult-like ideas get discussed, my friends often respond with reactions from the cult-specific antibodies, rather than advertising-related antibodies.
interesting and very valid point, thanks for sharing