“I saw the best minds of our generation, writing mind viruses and trying to start cults” — @radical_praxis
Thank goodness, at least someone is making an effort!
Flickr user new 1lluminati always delivers.
As far as I can tell, there are four ways to start a cult:
- charismatic crazy person
- charismatic cynical person
- crazy or cynical person with a lot of firepower
- stand-alone complex
Sometimes these vectors combine.
The term “stand-alone complex” comes from a famous cyberpunk anime called Ghost in the Shell. Per some random Wikipedia contributor(s):
A Stand Alone Complex can be compared to the emergent copycat behavior that often occurs after incidents such as serial murders or terrorist attacks. An incident catches the public’s attention and certain types of people “get on the bandwagon”, so to speak. It is particularly apparent when the incident appears to be the result of well-known political or religious beliefs, but it can also occur in response to intense media attention. […]
What separates the Stand Alone Complex from normal copycat behavior is that there is no real originator of the copied action, but merely a rumor or an illusion that supposedly performed the copied action. There may be real people who are labeled as the originator, but in reality, no one started the original behavior.
The weird spate of “killer clowns” a few months ago was arguably a stand-alone complex. (Didn’t hear of it? You’re in luck, because Know Your Meme compiled the relevant incidents.) The now-infamous PizzaGate controversy has elements of a stand-alone complex.
It would be an interesting art project to generate a stand-alone complex, but I wonder if that’s even possible — do you have to be sincere for it to work? When the SAC got away from you, as it must in order to flourish, would you feel responsible for its results?
