Viruses of the Mind

Richard Dawkins talks about the conformity of the human mind by comparing the mind with a human computer. The main focus of this reading is that parents have the biggest influence on people's lives. This is true, because of the fact that parents mold their children's minds at a stage where the mind is still developing. Any information given to them at this time becomes engraved in their minds and has an affect on them one way or another. Dawkins explains that faith and anything that isn't definite are like viruses to a child's mind, because they are gullible to believe inexplicable things, yet they
don't do any good for the child.

Another thing Dawkins talks about, that I firmly agree with, is that the society where a child is raised has a huge impact on his or her life. In essence, the stories that are told and the way a child is brought up can greatly affect his or her future thinking. In that sense, the practice of throwing religion onto young children can potentially harm them, because of the fact that they are forced into that religion, without truly knowing their other options.