William Burroughs, parasitism, language and the virus
Found : William Burroughs, parasitism, language and the virus
"Which came first, the intestine or the tapeworm?" In this epigram, Burroughs suggests that parasitism–corruption, plagiarism, surplus appropriation–is in fact conterminous with life itself. The tapeworm doesn't simply happen to attach itself to an intestine that was getting along perfectly well without it. Say rather that the [...]
Chandra Wickramasinghe on the extraterrestrial origins of the SARS virus
Found : Chandra Wickramasinghe on the extraterrestrial origins of the SARS virus
LONDON, England (CNN) — The SARS virus might have originated in outer space, according to a scientist in Britain.
In a letter to The Lancet medical journal, professor Chandra Wickramasinghe of Cardiff University suggests the virus was introduced to Earth on a comet or meteorite.
Comets [...]
The Incredibly Strange Story of Intelligent Design
Reprint of an article originally published in New Dawn Magazine #97, expanded and revised with original illustrations. A fascinating survey of alternative human origins theories and their links to Gnostic mythology!
Biological Disaster Story
“Burroughs imagines the beginning of humanity as a biological disaster story. Apes become human as a result of a virus infection that kills most of the species and mutates the rest. The survivors feel a painful invasion of their bodies by an external force that gradually produces human behavior. Humanity develops from language (“the talk [...]
Memes
"One of the most important new ideas of our times is that of 'memes,' – the vision of ideas as autonomous entities, leaping from brain to brain in much the same way that viruses leap from body to body, spreading and replicating and 'infecting' the population of 'hosts.'" – Douglas R. Hofstadter
"… [...]
