Ideas are a lot like viruses. Neither a virus nor an idea is alive, technically, but both reproduce though contact with other people.  And both are hard to eradicate. For example, 20% of the American population believes Obama is a Muslim. That's actually an increase since he was inaugurated.

Most idea viruses are the bad type. But I see no reason we couldn't engineer good idea viruses. Such a virus would have three traits:

1.       It must be catchy, so you never forget it.
2.       It must be something you are inclined to share.
3.       It must cause a positive change in the world.

The catchy-sharing part happens all the time. You see that in the form of famous quotes.  One harmless idea virus is John Lennon's "Give peace a chance." It's catchy, and it has a positive message, but it probably doesn't cause people to act differently. It's too general.

I've been tinkering with an idea virus that links education with peace. It would be a takeoff from the famous observation (and idea virus) that no two countries that both have a McDonalds ever went to war. I'm not sure that assertion is technically true. And it's hard to act upon, short of conquering a country and forcing it to become a free market.

Here's my engineered idea virus:  Education is the antidote to war.

The engineering that went into that idea is that you want it to be true because it suggests an alternative to war. That's what lets it slip past your rational defenses.