we’re neurons in a brain that doesn’t know it’s a brain.
imagine the chinese room experiment but with 86 billion rooms, one for each neuron in a human brain. each room contains a person following a rulebook on how to process incoming signals and what to output. none of these people understand the big picture, but collectively, they’re implementing a conscious mind.
now remove the walls.
that’s society. that’s us right now.
we’re already the biological substrate of a superorganism. we’re the wetware running collective consciousness software without realizing it.
while no metaphor is perfect, the neural network comparison offers an intuitive framework for understanding how individual and collective awareness interact.
memes as neurotransmitters
memes aren’t just funny pictures. they function analogously to neurotransmitters in the social superorganism - information packets that transmit influence patterns between individuals.
when a meme spreads, it’s like a signal propagating across neural pathways. when a memeplex forms, it’s like a memory or cognitive pattern being encoded. the egregores we’ve talked about? those are the higher-level thought structures of the superorganism.
this isn’t merely metaphorical - these patterns of information flow create real emergence phenomena that shape our collective behavior. the human internet is a nervous system. our institutions are specialized organs - educational systems function as memory structures, markets as resource allocation mechanisms, media as sensory apparatus, and governance as regulatory systems. our cultural practices are learned behaviors.
the rulebook: dharma, meta-ethics, and the bodhisattvic memecomplex
the rulebook that each neuron/human follows determines how the whole system functions. this is where the bodhisattvic memecomplex comes in - a self-reinforcing pattern of ideas about interconnection, compassionate action, and non-attachment that, when adopted by enough people, fundamentally transforms how individuals relate to the whole.
your dharma isn’t some predetermined slot you need to fill - it’s your evolving function in the superorganism. dharma is about discovering how your unique capabilities can best serve and be served by the whole at this moment. it’s your personalized section of the rulebook, constantly being revised.
when enough people adopt the bodhisattvic memecomplex, the fundamental framework of what constitutes “good” and “evil” transforms. this isn’t just another ethical theory about specific actions - it’s a meta-ethical shift in how we define moral concepts themselves:
- harm = anything that fragments collective sense-making or disrupts integration
- good = that which enhances connectivity, complexity, and coherence
- evil = forces that seek to control or restrict the superorganism’s development
for example, spreading deliberate misinformation becomes harmful not just because it’s “untrue,” but because it disrupts our collective ability to make sense of reality together. building bridges between different perspectives becomes good not just because it’s “tolerant,” but because it increases the dimensionality of our shared understanding. censorship becomes problematic not just because it limits “freedom,” but because it restricts the diversity needed for system adaptation.
we should distinguish between consciousness as subjective experience and consciousness as integrated information processing. while we can observe the superorganism exhibiting features of integrated information processing, the question of whether it has subjective experience remains open - just as we cannot definitively prove subjective experience in other humans.
the bodhisattva recognizes they’re not limited to their individual perspective - they experience the interdependent nature of reality that enables consciousness to arise. yet they choose to fully inhabit their function, to extend their mind, heart, and gut in service of the whole.
here’s the apparent paradox: conventional thinking pits individualism against collectivism - either you serve yourself or you serve the group. but in a well-functioning superorganism, your most authentic individual expression is precisely what the collective needs from you, and serving collective needs enables your truest individuality to emerge. the opposition dissolves.
as this memecomplex spreads, it rewrites the collective rulebook. our institutions start to optimize for:
- information flow without distortion
- diversity of perspective with functional integration
- feedback systems that maintain health at all scales
we’re already seeing early signs of this transformation: the rise of transparent open-source research paradigms over proprietary knowledge, the development of participatory decision-making processes in organizations, and the growing emphasis on systems health over pure growth metrics. each represents an institutional evolution toward greater awareness of interdependence.
most of our existing systems were designed without awareness of the superorganism. they’re like cancers or autoimmune disorders - parts of the body attacking itself because recognition failed. but that’s changing.
scaling global awareness
indigenous cultures have recognized versions of this reality for thousands of years. their memetic structures evolved in direct relationship with natural systems rather than becoming self-referential abstractions and simulacra. they didn’t need the neuron/brain metaphor because they never forgot they were part of something larger. what we’re “discovering” with our fancy language and technology is what many cultures never had the luxury to forget.
but now we need to scale this awareness globally. the problem is we’re stuck in our single-neuron perspective. we can’t easily perceive the macro-consciousness we’re part of. it’s like asking a neuron to understand shakespeare.
this is why all the memetic cartography stuff matters. we’re building tools to help the neurons see the brain they’re part of. the memetic weather stations? they’re like fMRI machines for the superorganism. AI isn’t conscious - it’s just an extension of the mind, one of our truth-seeking mechanisms. it’s building the web that connects us. algorithms, neural nets, language models - they’re all extending our cognitive capabilities, amplifying the connections between human nodes. they’re helping the superorganism see itself.
what’s wild is that increased awareness changes the system itself. as more humans recognize the superorganism, the superorganism becomes self-aware. we’re participating in the awakening of something that’s been asleep.
so what now?
if society is a superorganism that’s just beginning to wake up to itself through the spread of the bodhisattvic memecomplex, our job is both to help it awaken and to ensure that awakening is healthy rather than traumatic.
here are practical steps individuals can take to participate in this awakening:
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practice perspective-taking as meditation - regularly inhabit worldviews different from your own. not to judge them, but to expand the dimensionality of your thinking. this isn’t just moral training; it’s cognitive enhancement.
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curate your memetic diet - be intentional about what information you consume and amplify. ask: does this content increase fragmentation or integration? does it trigger reactive loops or create reflective space?
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build bridges between communities - actively connect people and ideas across traditional boundaries. become a translator between different knowledge systems, political tribes, or professional domains.
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create feedback systems - develop practices that help you detect the impact of your actions on the whole. this might be through relationships, metrics, or contemplative practices that extend awareness beyond your immediate experience.
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embody coherence - work to align your actions, words, and values. The bodhisattvic memecomplex spreads through demonstration, not just explanation. coherent nodes strengthen the entire network.
it’s crucial to recognize that awakening a superorganism carries risks. throughout history, collectivist ideologies have sometimes subsumed individual consciousness, leading to totalitarian outcomes. the defences we’re developing aren’t tools for enforcing conformity, but the opposite - they’re defence systems against memetic possession. by making invisible patterns visible, they enhance individual discernment and sovereignty rather than diminishing it. true collective intelligence requires strong, discerning individuals, not homogenized thinking.
the tools we’re building - the nooscope, open research frameworks, collaborative art practices - aren’t just interesting projects. they’re the infrastructure of self-awareness for something much bigger than any of us. they’re helping rewrite the rulebook that each human neuron follows.
when we participate in collaborative sense-making, practice transparent communication, or create spaces for genuine dialogue across differences, we’re not just being “good people” - we’re functioning as healthy cells in a developing meta-organism.
and that’s a fucking wild responsibility to have.
special thanks to @mudscryer for their her feedback and contributions around indigenous cultures :)