Chapter One:

Evaluating Tools

Magic, memetics, mastermind groups, egregores, and cybernetics are all discussed in the following chapters. We've relied on the terms above in developing this book to help you use these tools to achieve your own goals through the design and spread of memes across many different layers of networks. Before we get much deeper in, let's establish why we wrote this book, and what these terms mean to us.

Magic is perhaps the most loaded term we use throughout the text, and we propose the same definition Taylor Ellwood puts forth in his book Multi-Media Magic: "Magic involves making the improbable possible. It's learning how even the slightest change you make can have a radical effect on the internal system of your psychology/spirituality, and the external system of the environment and universe you live in."⁵ This definition corresponds directly to the overall intention behind this book, which is to show you how internal and external networks can be brought to operate at maximum efficiency on your behalf.

Memetics, the study of cultural evolution, can be used to help us better understand our lives and achieve our desires. We've noticed that memetics, when discussed in marketing circles, tends to be a kind of metaphysical reference point. The meaning of "meme" is somewhat distanced now from Richard Dawkins' very specific definition in The Selfish Gene, where he described the meme as a unit of cultural imitation.⁶ Susan Blackmore gives an inspired speech on Meme as 'That which is imitated' and can be viewed on the video reference page here. Knowledge of the theory of memetics is vital in understanding contemporary discussions on the effect of word-of-mouth advertising, or where viral videos get their cultural traction. However, memetics applies to many other areas, such as the transmission of information across language barriers, the effects of psychological operations in geo-political struggles, archetypal resonance in cultures, and the growth of internet piracy. We believe that understanding the theory of memetics brings us a new perspective on understanding ourselves and why we behave in the ways we do. We want to provide you with the understanding necessary to create memes that spread rapidly and support your direct intentions and goals.