"Fight bad ideas with better ideas." The idea is appealing because it satisfies at least two virtuous constraints. The censor is denied entry. The errant belief simply gets cut out by the sharp blades of logic and reason. Epistemic hygiene: ✔️ Free speech: ✔️
This does sound like the concept of memetic hazards, but not in an immuno-compromised way. Less rage-baiting, more "degeneracy is evil by mere perception" (like it is a Trump-ese idea reformulated). Other than the political rhetoric:
* A major argument against this, is that there are less than a dozen forms of prions compared to variations of bacteria and viruses. Applied to memetics, the amount of such possible "bullshit theories" would be extremely low compared to amount of "regular ludicrous ideas". Post-hoc detection of such memes would be easy, but discovering them through all pathways of thought would be hard. https://www.callingbullshit.org/
* An alternative conjecture, observing Virchow's Cell Theory and Béchamp's Terrain Theory, which when properly understood, noted that viral infections can only happens if biological pathways are dysregulated (incl. natural immunity, general wellbeing v health risk, sickle cell anemia v malaria). Is it possible that all these people who went out in 2021, compared to those that sit at home on that way, are more prone to be infected by certain idea due pre-existing condition, e.g. dissolution of communities, poverty and conflict, counterpartisan peace? https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/09/02/book-review-ages-of-discord/
* Worse case counterfactual: what if these "BS" are in reality a form of memetic immune response against worse forms of disease (maybe state actor influence or disintegration of dialogue)? Probiotics are known for their ability to increase ones immune system. The only problem with this, is to prove that 2021 and Trumpism is a form of hormesis ("things that don't kill you makes you stronger") that made the US stronger post-Trump... This sounded detestably similar to reactionary theories https://graymirror.substack.com/p/the-great-coup-of-2021
This does sound like the concept of memetic hazards, but not in an immuno-compromised way. Less rage-baiting, more "degeneracy is evil by mere perception" (like it is a Trump-ese idea reformulated). Other than the political rhetoric:
* A major argument against this, is that there are less than a dozen forms of prions compared to variations of bacteria and viruses. Applied to memetics, the amount of such possible "bullshit theories" would be extremely low compared to amount of "regular ludicrous ideas". Post-hoc detection of such memes would be easy, but discovering them through all pathways of thought would be hard. https://www.callingbullshit.org/
* An alternative conjecture, observing Virchow's Cell Theory and Béchamp's Terrain Theory, which when properly understood, noted that viral infections can only happens if biological pathways are dysregulated (incl. natural immunity, general wellbeing v health risk, sickle cell anemia v malaria). Is it possible that all these people who went out in 2021, compared to those that sit at home on that way, are more prone to be infected by certain idea due pre-existing condition, e.g. dissolution of communities, poverty and conflict, counterpartisan peace? https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/09/02/book-review-ages-of-discord/
* Worse case counterfactual: what if these "BS" are in reality a form of memetic immune response against worse forms of disease (maybe state actor influence or disintegration of dialogue)? Probiotics are known for their ability to increase ones immune system. The only problem with this, is to prove that 2021 and Trumpism is a form of hormesis ("things that don't kill you makes you stronger") that made the US stronger post-Trump... This sounded detestably similar to reactionary theories https://graymirror.substack.com/p/the-great-coup-of-2021
These are some ideas worth considering.