פרסומים אחרונים במדור "חברה וכלכלה"

Journal of Memetics:
http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit/

(1) - http://virus.lucifer.com/

survival of the fittest

"According to statistics published in the September 1992 issue of the /Journal of Advertising/, advertising produced an increase in sales in less than half of the cases studied; indeed, advertising had little or no effect on product sales in more than three-quarters of the cases studied."

Alex, I would ask that you re-read my message. I said "sexual connotations," not "explicit sexual content." There is a difference.

In any case, perhaps I've not been exposed to enough European advertising, which is good, considering my basic aversion from pornography.

I don't think that any person could survive without a screening system. Have you given thought to the kind of person this would be? One that gives the same amount of attention to _all_ given ideas? I believe the appropriate term would be "vegetible." Such a person could not function in this world, a world filled with a huge amount of ideas, coming from all directions.

Vincent, your comment reminds me of the basics of some neo-Marxist theories (and I wonder how no one mentioned them before - the fathers of radical "media effect" theories). According to the neo-Marxists, the individual has no control over the powerful forces that shape his life - meaning, the popular media (which, in turn, is completely controlled by the mind-shaping elites). And like evry other Marxist theory, these guys conclude (of course) with a call for the necessity of a rebellion from below.
Memetics provide us with a modern and very interesting look at these thoughts from the 70's; returning to your initial question - no, culture cannot be morally judged as long as it is being held by the tight grip of manipulative media.
Noga (6 digits, begins with a 2)

See what you've done! Now you made me go back to the books and refresh my memory. And indeed, according to the Frankfurt school, the masses may experience a disillusionment one day, even if it will not lead to a revolution.

May, but not bloody likely. Adorno will not hold his breath.

Subject: FYI: Hoax Virus warning
To: ALL-UNDERGRADUATE-STUDENTS-L@TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL
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Shalom,
Some of you may have received a 'virus' warning with a text similar to the one
quoted below (keep reading after the quoted text!):

"YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED A VIRUS. I HAVE A VIRUS RESIDENT IN STILL THERE
AFTER RUNNINGTHE LATEST UPGRADE OF McAFEE VIRUS SCAN. IT IS ALSO NOT
DETECTED BY NORTON ANTIVIRUS 2001, ALTHOUGH THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF
IT. THE FILE NAME IS SULFNBK.EXE .IT WILL NOT ACTIVATE UNTIL 1 JUNE.

SOME CONTACTS IN MY ADDRESS BOOK HAVE ALREADY BEEN INFECTED.

THIS PARTICULAR VIRUS IS STORED IN THE WINDOWS\COMMAND DIRECTORY AND I'M
NOT SURE WHERE IT CAME FROM.

TO REMOVE IT DO A FILE SEARCH IN WINDOWS EXPLORER FOR SULFNBK AND

DELETE IT AND THEN DELETE IT FROM YOUR WASTE BIN. IT WILL ACTIVATE IN

YOUR WASTE BIN. DON'T DOUBLE CLICK IT OTHERWISE YOU WILL ACTIVATE IT.

IT ATTACHES ITSELF TO E-MAILS SO ADVISE OTHERS WHO YOU MAY HAVE SENT

THEM TO (IF YOU HAVE IT AND AFTER DELETING IT).

THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAME FROM MY SENDER AND FROM NORTON."

Please note:

1. SULFNBK.EXE is a Windows system support file and should not be deleted (a
pain to recover).

2. The whole story is a hoax (i.e it is NOT a virus), as claimed by Symantec.
See:
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/sulfnbk.e...

3. Please do NOT send the false warning to your friends! This is in fact the
real virus, as it clogges the network.

Thanks,
Moshe