Extropianism enjoys a symbiotic relationship with our most vital values, such as the will to survive and our love of intelligence. Such native meme-sets run quite deep in humans, and seem likely to play an important role in the cognition of transhumans to come. That Extropianism cooperates with our most fundamental goals makes it useful, satisfying, and justifiably popular. We should thus take Extropianism very seriously.
Memes evolve, however. We should thus also take seriously the threat that Extropianism could mutate into something that does not promote our fundamental values. Such a mutation-- call it "Hextropianism"--might slip past our defenses disguised as Extropianism proper only to attack our cognitive ecologies. A mildly parasitic form of Hextropianism would merely feed off of victims. A virulent "Hextropian" cult, however, risks burning through an ill- prepared population like Ebola through a ward of infants.
How can we protect ourselves against dangerous mutations of beneficial memes? Fortunately, Extropianism already incorporates many safe-guards, such as an appreciation of reasoned criticism, advocacy of the scientific method, and an intelligent and skeptical constituency. To stay ahead of competing mutations, however, we must continue to research additional prophylactics. With that goal in mind, I suggest that we consider how humor protects against virulent ideological mutations.
Evidence suggests that no truly dangerous ideology tolerates, much less encourages, its carriers to laugh about it. Humor seems to protect against irrational zealotry. I suggest that humor, like inoculation, generates anti-memes. Though the exact causal mechanism remains unclear (as do the causes of humor itself), I theorize that making a meme the butt of jokes transmits it in enfeebled form. Just as inoculations prepare our immune systems for potentially worse things, silliness can introduce a meme while simultaneously stripping it of authority. Laughter jiggles our faithful assumptions, shaking dogmas loose. And, quite unlike the usual sort of vaccination, humor injections tickle.
I certainly do not advocate persistent or vicious mockery of Extropianism. Because I remain uncertain about how humor and memes interact, I advocate only very careful and limited experimentation. But a little bit of applied silliness may do us well, and seems unlikely to cause much harm. Science, art, and business all thrive despite some self-mockery. One thus ought not assume that giving Extropianism a sense of humor will drive away aspirants. Given our apparently extravagant (if ultimately justified) statements, we will come off as mad if we do not do not see the humor (as well as potential tragedy) in the Extropian condition. As I noted at Extro1,
If we take ourselves too seriously, others won't take us seriously at all.