Mind Virus

A mind virus is an idea or a belief that spreads because it uses the shortcuts of the mind. Those shortcuts are fear, guilt, identity, authority, and zero-sum thought. At the same time, it resists correction from logic, evidence, or lived experience. A mind virus continues not because it is true. It continues because it stops error correction in the minds where it lives. It frequently does this with new definitions of harm, guilt, or consent, definitions that make coercion "legitimate". Mind viruses grow in systems that stop the free exchange of ideas. They decay when they meet open debate, falsifiability, and voluntary interaction.