The antimemetics (and memetics) of making ideas happen -- in crypto and beyond

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Aug 7, 2025

Nadia Asparouhova, a researcher and author renowned for her insights on open-source software and antimemetics, dives into the fascinating dynamics of idea propagation. She discusses how certain ideas resist spreading while others thrive, emphasizing the role of group chats and small communities in this process. The conversation also covers the balance of public and private discourse, the impact of social networks on idea refinement, and the importance of context in shaping perceptions. Asparouhova's expertise sheds light on what it truly takes to turn concepts into action.

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INSIGHT

Understanding Antimemetics

Antimemetics are self-censoring ideas that resist spreading despite being interesting and important.
Examples include taboos and difficult truths that fade from memory or remain unspoken in groups.

INSIGHT

Group Chats as Idea Incubators

Group chats serve as incubators for ideas, acting as segmented spaces where concepts can rapidly evolve.
These small, high-trust communities have become central hubs for discourse, not just fringe areas.

INSIGHT

Vibes: Undefined Yet Spreading

Vibes combine memetic and anti-memetic qualities: they spread despite the core idea often remaining undefined.
These ambiguous ideas facilitate social consensus without precise articulation.

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with @nayafia and @smc90

Ideas, memes, and vibes are some of the most important drivers of modern technology adoption, marketing, and much more -- and have been much-covered by everyone from Darwin to Dawkins to Girard to many others. Yet the topic of antimemetics -- self-censoring (vs. self-propagating) ideas -- whether something fringe, forgotten, or forbidden -- haven't been studied as much, especially in the context of modern networks.

So in this special book-launch episode, we cover the important concept of antimemetics (and memetics) -- focusing on:

where and how ideas take off in groups, whether in online chats or other high-shared context communities;
how ideas not just spread but are contained, or mutate in strange ways;
why packaging ideas matters; and
what we can all do to move ideas to action.

Where do bureacracy, institutions, and protocols come in? What about tacit knowledge that lies in these communities, how (or do) we make it explicit? What roles -- from truth tellers to champions to individual nodes in networks -- can and do people play in making something go from mere commentary to reality? After all, ideas -- or ideas as viruses -- are how movements happen, how innovation happens, how things change... or don't ever change despite being discussed all the time.

Our expert guest in this special book episode (following in our long tradition of sharing what we're reading) is Nadia Asparouhova, the author of the new book, Antimemetics: Why Some Ideas Resist Spreading; she is also the author of the book Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software. a16z crypto's Sonal Chokshi -- who previously hosted Nadia's book-launch episode for the a16z Podcast and almost a decade before that on the changing culture of open source -- interviews Nadia on these themes, how they connect, and why they matter for the crypto industry and beyond. We also dig into some critiques -- and opportunities for builders -- too, including what happens to the public commons; network propagation including across networks; reality distortion fields; hidden knowledge; and cultural stagnation vs. cultural abundance. All this and more in this episode of web3 with a16z!