Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyndaran
That's I meant to write. That memetics as written isn't much different than normal human interaction. Even just being nice to get on someone's good side is itself a form of social manipulation.
As to the previous issue, I wouldn't call mind controlling toxic gases completely alien to normal human biology pheromones. I suppose those in setting may use it as a shorthand, but I think it muddies the topic for many modern players that may not know the difference.
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Perhaps I should clarify too. Memetics is implied to be creepy mind control not because of its effectiveness, but rather because it takes all the creepiness in social influence and lays it bare. Compare: people know they're made of meat and are okay with it in the abstract, but are often creeped out by images/videos of skinless humans or visible internal organs.
Also, 'mind-controlling toxic gases' is both a loaded term and, if I understand what you mean correctly, just one of the possibilities. One other idea I'm thinking of is a way to use scent to trigger the effect of certain emotions by a purely sensory-hack method, in a way similar to how certain images and sounds produce visual or audial illusions: an exploit of a flaw in the human perception, of a neural pathway that is not triggered under normal circumstances etc.