Wednesday, March 14, 2007

http://www.amazon.com/Made-Stick-Ideas-Survive-Others/dp/1400064287


Interesting idea, overheard on the Scientific American podcast. The idea is that there are characteristics of ideas that allows them to spread and be disseminated widely, even if they are of poor quality. For example, the Four Humors theory of medicine held for a couple of thousand years, even though it is completely bogus.

Makes me think about things like Intelligent Design and the appeal of right wing philosophies in general.