Books like SuperFreakonomics, Outliers, The Tipping Point, & Predictably Irrational (affiliate links) have become extremely popular by detailing how outcomes and observations can be dependent on seemingly unrelated phenomena.
Gaining understanding of the “unpredictable” and “unexpected”, can be important because they can help guide us through difficult decisions, and prepare for the unknown.
Understanding the quantum nature of memes can help guide us to our life desires.
For instance, Gladwell tells us that if you want to be a professional hockey player, it depends less on how much you practice, but actually more-so on which month you were born.
Being born in a certain time of the year sets a stage of events that tunnels the pool of candidates into the narrow group that ends up becoming pro.
I would love to be able to say that hard work and practice are all you need, but in terms of probability, I’d be flat out wrong.
The good news is that you can have amazing talent and be a hard worker, the longer you persevere, the greater the chances of you being noticed, it’s just never guaranteed. Knowing “why” certain months work better at “turning pro” could shift your decision making to improve your chances despite any disadvantages of time and place.
For instance, a parent may see more value in paying a higher price for their kid to be part of a premier youth hockey league. Likewise, they may save money by seeking new avenues to get their results, or shifting their desires for their kid to become “pro” in the first place.
As soon as you recognize a meme, it ceases being a meme! This is because memes work passively on the level of the subconscious mind.
You may consciously recognize your exposure to a meme, but your subconscious knows no better and has already registered the meme in your mind.
This is similar to the findings of Quantum Mechanics, where the very act of observing something changes it.
We know that we consist of mostly empty space with electron clouds of probable locations. This means you cannot predict where an electron is and how fast it is going at the same time.
When you “look” at it, it looks as though its in one place (when in actuality it’s everywhere at once).
Reality depends on the lens by which you look at the world. To shift your memes, shift the lens by which you view the world, or change the types of information flowing into your view!
This totally pulls the rug beneath science as we know it which threatens some institutional power structures and how scientific research is designed and conducted (but shh, they don’t want us to know).
Depending on the observer, you can study the same set of data and come to do different conclusions, and both observers would be scientifically correct based on the question they set out to answer in the first place.
The quality of your “questions” becomes supremely important!
It kind of all comes back to Einstein’s theory of relativity. If you’re riding a bike down the street, one viewpoint could say the bike is moving on the street, the other viewpoint could be that the bike is sitting still and the street is moving past it.
What you “see” is only your eyes’ representation of what’s in front of you – and you have a degree of conscious control over who you spend your time with, what you decide to read, and what you decide to do with your time and money.
A Brave New World?
If you’re a little confused it’s okay. These are tough subjects, and I don’t think you have really studied science until you come out a bit baffled.
Once you take the quantum leap, and begin to understand the power of memes, it really opens a world of possibility.
Being healthy or being sick, or being prosperous or being poor really come back to mindset.
The only difference between me and the late Steve Jobs, is what I do with my time and my money, and how I react emotionally to key decisions.
You can leverage memes to your advantage and pave the course to your dreams. This can mean reading certain books, challenging your own belief structures, and paying attention to the hidden messages that are being projected on you.
When you are led in life by a greater “purpose” and “sense of direction”, the grey decisions become more black and white for you. You become in control despite the unpredictable nature of reality.
Ask yourself, what would a healthy person do? What would a wealthy person choose?
If we fail to ask better questions and give ourselves full reign over our lives, by default we are run off the subconscious templates given to us by our memes.