Concept
The adoption of a belief because one’s peers hold it, rather than on the evidence for it. Distinct from the content-side criteria of memetic fitness: conformity weights the social fact of agreement itself. In O’Connor & Weatherall’s models conformity pressure can lock a community onto a belief — true or false — and insulate it from correcting evidence.
Connections
- Defined in: Selection As The Other Engine
- Discussed in: Ch 7 — Emotional Memetics As The Floor, Ch 5b — Selection As The Other Engine
- Pressure-tested by: Not Born Yesterday
- Evidenced by: The Misinformation Age, Not Born Yesterday
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