Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id TAA23723 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Mon, 31 Jan 2000 19:50:32 GMT From: Robin Faichney <robin@faichney.demon.co.uk> Organization: Reborn Technology To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: Re: memetics-digest V1 #118 Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2000 19:06:18 +0000 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.21] Content-Type: text/plain References: <6d.e4bfdd.25c72d44@aol.com> Message-Id: <00013119140205.00393@faichney> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
On Mon, 31 Jan 2000, VANWYHE@aol.com wrote:
>Robert I think your subject a fascinating one but I think your conclusion
>needs more thought. "Higher levels of organization" is rather figurative
>language.
I'm not sure "figurative" is exactly right. I'd say molecules exist at a
higher level of organisation than atoms. Would you call that "figurative"?
>I would be interested in seeing the physical stance followed up more
>carefully. I don't think the what "memes" actually are is often considered by
>those who talk about them. The confusion arises in the vagueness which
>persists about the relationship between brain information and artefacts.
>Artefacts don't reproduce themselves. They are like bird nests. Nests don't
>evolve- even though we might see change in a succession of nests- these
>changes do point to the evolution of the brain information responsible for
>their creation.
*IF* nest-building was memetic, as (some) bird song seems to be, I'd say we
"see" evolution neither in nests, nor in brain information, but in what these
have in common. Just as in a repeated cycle of English->French->English
translations, what would be interesting would be an evolution of the meaning
that the French and English texts shared. The meme is what behaviour and
brain-stored info have in common that allows the continuous cycling between
them.
>Anyway, a little tid bit out of my own work there. Good luck with your essay.
Thanks.
-- Robin Faichney===============================This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing) see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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