A glorious slideshow from Discover discusses 8 zombie animals and the parasites that control their minds and/or bodies. Snails, spiders, crabs and people — we all are at risk of zombification from tiny forces that know how to make us do things.
Philosopher Dan Dennett suggests that — just as these parasites force their host to act in ways that benefit the parasite — so do certain ideas find a home inside our brains and make us act in ways that don’t directly benefit us. To hear more about this phenomenon, watch Dan Dennett’s TEDTalk about zombie ants and the dangerous power of memes.
Or just watch some zombies do yoga.
Image: Steve Yanoviak/University of Arkansas at Little Rock. From Discover.