Homo Neophilus

Through reading the book trilogy Illuminatus, by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea I have discovered that I have followed a recognised path in my understanding of the world. I have walked the same way as thousands, if not millions of people, and nothing I have discovered is new.

Conversely most of what I have read has just confirmed what I have already thought through and written about. However last night I stumbled across a new phrase in the book; Homo Neophilus.

This is a genus subtype that purports to be a new species that divides human beings. The logic states that people traditionally are either irrational or rational, the book further subdivides irationallity into two types:

- Homo Neophobus is a type of person who hates everything new and is afraid of changing the staus quo.

- Homo Neophilus is a type of person who hates everything old and lovingly embraces new ideas.

 

The book makes a point of saying that the neophiles pop up every now and then, these are an evolution of species and a new breed. They are the kind of people who give the world a little push and while they make many mistakes, they are not afraid to do so and one of those little pushes will result in a viable mutation that will have dramatic effects.

So this is all great and is liberating, but it is also attractive to the ego and therefore i'm not sure I trust it. This could be seen as brainwashing for a particular mind-set and allows people like me to look down on other sub-species and laugh. That's not my bag though, so this will just stay as an interesting idea for the moment.


 

12/12/06

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