I can’t imagine It’s over 9000 ever dying.

  • wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works
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    3 hours ago

    Much like how viruses are not technically living, because they lack the internal depth to have their own metabolism and must parasitize other life to spread, ‘67’ has no meaning, and must parasitize the cognitive abilities of its hosts to spread. It is not a meme. It is a memetic virus.

    Those who catch it and refuse to cover their mouths and stop the spread need to be quarantined (ignored until they’re ready to stop saying it)

      • wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works
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        2 hours ago

        I’m just saying that memes are concepts which carry nuggets of meaning. They spread naturally through populations like genes. “Memes” which do not actually carry any context or meaning are not actually memes, then. They act more like viruses. If it were a shibboleth, such as “42”, which signifies membership in some group, then it would have that purpose and meaning, but as far as I can tell, it serves no such purpose. It’s not some signal of belonging, but rather just a thing that’s said because it’s there. Another example of a memetic virus is “the game”. It’s compulsive, carries no meaning or context, and serves no conceivable purpose except to annoy and to allow others to enjoy the schadenfreude of that annoyance.

        “23 skidoo” and “o.k.” are not the same as “67”, because they convey meaning (“leave” and “affirmative”, respectively). They are thus memes which serve a purpose in communication among a population.