Why Sincerity Is Extremely Memeable

First, let's look at 4 images that have been memed not millions, but billions of times on the internet:

What about these images makes them malleable enough to suit a dizzying variety of themes? And striking enough to become viral conduits of people's thoughts? Answer: their sincerity.

Irony, sarcasm, and other forms of "double speak" are corrosive by nature. By being indirect, they dilute their own power. Sincerity, by leaving nothing to doubt, is the mother of all memes. Only convictions spread .

A meme must be understood in a fraction of a second, must scream from a loud speaker what was previously only whispered, and must mock or celebrate in no uncertain terms. Therefore, only unambiguous emotion is memeable.

Life is duplicitous & strange. Sincerity 24/7 will probably be exhausting. Language is something to win with, something to harm with, but also something to play with. Indirect speech can be direct fun. But a meme cant be a 3D Rubik's cube. It's a flat slap. It must be sincere.

Einstein said: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."

Here's a 21st century spin on this idea: "If you cannot turn it into a meme, you do not understand it well enough."

Robert Aunger wrote The Electric Meme in 2002, and it's the best introduction to the science of memes. Here is a 2 minute summary of this book:

https://memod.com/jashdholani/ddd-4106

101 Intro to "Memes" Memes - you've heard of them. You've even forwarded them. But do you understand