A week ago, I saw a video of a girl giving a philosophical take on the “67” meme. It was definitely a random one, but one thing I took from it is that humans have a strong tendency to look for patterns and assign meaning, even when something may not have any deep reason behind it. We, Homo sapiens, are creatures that try to find order in randomness, and this happens even when events are purely accidental or meaningless. It is a basic part of how the human brain understands the world.
Meaning is often created socially. When many people focus on the same idea (like a meme or trend), it starts to feel meaningful. Social media has greatly amplified this by speeding up the process, allowing ideas to spread quickly and gain collective attention. Over time, repetition can make something feel important, even if it started as something random. This raises a deeper philosophical question: is meaning something that exists within things themselves, or something humans construct through interpretation and perception?
For example, natural laws like gravity exist regardless of human belief, but cultural meanings such as memes, symbols, or trends only exist because people collectively agree to give them significance.
Overall, the “brain-rot” trends going on these days show how easily humans can turn randomness into meaning, highlighting the thin line between what is objectively real and what is shaped by human interpretation.
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I rly appreciate these thoughts. Thanks for sharing!
Hi christina!
I love the philosophical nature of this essay, especially in the context of memes and humans' tendency to assign meaning and label to things. I agree with a lot of the points you make here and I see it so often in other aspects of our life (often, like you touch upon, exacerbated by social media): such as our tendency to create identity labels for ourselves. For example, some people really connect with certain sexual orientation labels, while others may prefer the term "unlabeled" or the umbrella term "queer."
I'm a big fan of memes so I like how you incorporate this into your essay. If you're looking to expand your essay further, or incorporate more philosophical elements, you should consider how "absurdism" may play a part--I've seen people describing "67" as "absurdist." It's kinda wind-warping how the fact that something doesn't have meaning is what gives it meaning! Ack!!
In terms of your essay structure itself, your overall argument is pretty clear. If you choose to, I think incorporating more examples and/or research or personal analysis could take it to the next level!
Another small tip I have for clear, consistent writing is to be mindful of vague words, like "it" and "this." For example:
With the words "it was definitely a random one", does "it" refer to the video or the 67 meme? Later in the sentence, "it" is repeated. I'd also suggest maybe considering alternative words to "thing!". For example, the word "takeaway" may be a good replacement.
Overall, I really enjoyed the thought-provoking ideas here. Memes are truly a fascinating part of our culture! Looking forward to reading more of your writing.
Rain
I appreciate the writing advice, rain. English isn't my first language and since i wrote this pretty quickly, I ended up overlooking a lot of smaller wording issues like that. Thanks again for the detailed feedback and for engaging with the essay so deeply. I%u2019m glad you enjoyed it.
hi christina!
this is really timely considering the polarizing reception certain memes have had, so I found this to be an interesting read!
I liked how you've explored the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns within random data, especially in a world that is so defined by technology and the connection of people / culture born from it. it's a such positive advancement, but it isn't free from issues. I also thought your distinction between natural laws (like gravity) and social constructs is excellent - it's harder to decipher certain institutional ideas from the irrefutable facts of life, like marriages vs. biological responses to love, a need for expansion vs. nature itself, etc. that's such an essential factor in understanding social norms and aspects of human societies.
the scale of it all is also covered quite well -> in the past, folklore took decades to codify and had went through immense change as it traveled from person to person. now, a "meaningless" number or phrase can become a cultural pillar in 48 hours due to collective repetition on an app like tiktok. it's an interesting perspective to consider social media as a catalyst, though it definitely amplifies how the interaction of peoples and ideas can transform language.
^ though, I felt your ending simplified your point; you have material for such a vast, wider development of ideas, but the ending simply restated your original point without adding to the conversation.
I mean, yes, but it might be worth noting that for humans, subjective reality is often more "real" than objective reality. we don't live our lives based on the molecular structure of our food. we live based on the taste and the memories associated with it, how our cultures have shaped our perceptions of food around us. this new wave of brain rot is just the latest, most chaotic version of this idea.
ALSO, if you enjoy philosophy at all, I do think you should look into Jean Baudrillard: his concept of simulacra describes a world where the symbol (the meme) becomes more important than the reality it originally represented, eventually representing nothing at all. memes are the ultimate expression of this since they are units of culture that mutate, lose their original context, and eventually become "realer than real" (hyperreality).
this was an enjoyable read though! I think it was very clear and often a sophisticated reflection on something that dominates today's society - I would've loved to see a more in-depth analysis, but this was neat.
best,
cocteau
Thanks for the review, Cocteau. The girl in the video actually mentioned Jean Baudrillard, but I forgot about it, and since I was writing this at the last minute, I kind of skipped over it. Thanks anyway.