Meditation on Burroughs

Language is a virus sent from outer space. Well, what does it eat? Language lives in our brains so it must eat our thoughts, our ideas When I talk to you I’m not listening. I’m trying to feed the language virus colony in my brain by shoveling it new ideas and concepts. And my virus isn’t your virus. They’ve learned to talk to each other because they’ve both got a hankering for the whole “English” style of thinking. They propagate, they spread, they reproduce by hoping from host to host, sucking up new thoughts and depositing them along the way. Because what is language but the communication of ideas? I want to force you to change your ideas, your beliefs, not because your beliefs are wrong or mine are right but because that’s the way our language viruses breed. When we have a fight, when we have a disagreement it’s my language viruses trying to infect your brain. And your virus colony trying to fight off that infection. And either my virus will overtake yours and your ideas will have been altered. Or your virus will fight off mine and be stronger in the process. Just as mine will.

Language is a virus sent from outer space. Well, what does it eat? Languages live in our brains so they might eat our ideas. That could mean that ideas are a kind of organism too. Viruses are parasites but maybe ideas are symbiotes. I know mine can often be helpful. And they exist in a symbiotic relationship with language which is what they use to get around from brain to brain where they live.

In so many words, we should rejoice in disputes and arguments and debates. We should get into fights on a daily basis. Not fist fights. Not gun fights. But word fights. A little word germ warfare. Because when I try to change your mind, I’m being literal about it. And any way that “conflict” is resolved we both come out ahead. When we try to “change each other’s minds” our ideas are being challen ged. We are forced to defend them or accept their transformation. Because having been infected by my ideas yours must come to term with mine and vice versa.