Parasitic Beliefs
Are they controlling our behavior?
Ewww...
You, my friend, are a great host. Hundreds if not thousands of little critters want to call you home and some surely already have. There’s nothing like a pandemic to make that point painfully obvious. I would just like to remind you how prevalent parasitic life forms really are before suggesting something you may otherwise think incredible.
“Life lives on life. Your own body will be food for something else. Anyone who denies this, anyone who holds back, is out of order. Death is an act of giving.” ― Joseph Campbell
One replicator using another replicator to replicate — it’s amazing and common at the same time. Besides predator/prey relationships between lifeforms, there are parasitic relationships and they are not all bad. In fact, if it weren’t for parasites, we wouldn’t be here.
Because of the co-evolutionary relationship between parasite and host, there exists a kind of arms race creating ever greater complexity. Natural selection provides all that is needed to produce the intricate designs and relationships between replicators.
Parasites have evolved some extraordinary ways to use their hosts to replicate, including “brain surgery” and mind control. If you liked the movie “Alien,” you’re going to love…
