[ExI] Eden, deep memes, exodus from the Ape God

[The Avantguardian]

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>From: Mike Dougherty <msd001 at gmail.com>
>To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> 
>Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2012 4:41 PM
>Subject: Re: [ExI] Eden, deep memes, exodus from the Ape God
>
>
>2012/1/14 Will Steinberg <steinberg.will at gmail.com>
>
>Yes...I was a bit too far-reaching in calling this the origin of *all* human beliefs.  I still believe it is extremely plausible, though, that a group of humans existed whose memory of past culture transmuted into many of today's monotheistic beliefs.  An even broader point, though, would be that the number of ancient societies whose memetic memories formed modern culture is probably low--because successful beliefs eradicate unsuccessful ones--and so I would predict that part of prehistory was a 'civilization' bottleneck leading to rather similar belief systems for many, many of their descendants.   
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>I hate to be so cynical, but I think you're still too far-reaching.  It much easier to see "our father" as a simple generalization of a literal father figure and to view all humanity as siblings in an otherwise primitive family.  There's not much more in that memeplex that requires any kind of complexity to extrapolate.  The whole things is almost too simplistic.  Therein lies its appeal and longevity.  

 
If you think that is cynical, consider this: If a Bayesian were to assume that there were a God and that worldly success were a sign of God's favor then God's chosen people would not be people at all but ants. After all *1/5* of all land-based biomass is in ants. It has been calculated that minus the polar regions and possibly the top floors of fastitidiously cleaned skyscrapers, no human being is ever more than 6 feet from the nearest ant. That being said if God made his favored children in his own image then God is likely an ant. And since it would be unthinkable that God is a pathetic ant drone he must be female, therefore probably a queen. So sorry no father figure. ;-P
 
 
Stuart LaForge


“Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution." -Clay Shirky