Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id RAA23075 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 22 Feb 2000 17:01:06 GMT From: Robin Faichney <robin@faichney.demon.co.uk> Organization: Reborn Technology To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: RE: What are memes made of? Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 16:16:06 +0000 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.21] Content-Type: text/plain References: <NBBBIIDKHCMGAIPMFFPJOEIFEGAA.richard@brodietech.com> Message-Id: <00022216221000.00473@faichney> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
On Tue, 22 Feb 2000, Richard Brodie wrote:
>Joe wrote:
>
><<When the imitation is mandated to occur only within critical periods
>and is genetically tightly circumscribed as to scope and range,
>yes. People may make up different word strings all their lives;
>human languages are open-ended systems, capable of unlimited
>possibilities for signification. Where's your proof that any species'
>birdsong modifies outside the genetically mandated critical period,
>or is capable in any case of any more than a tiny number of very
>similar "variations"? >>
>
>To embellish this point slightly... in my mind the question is, does the
>evolution of birdsong result in the formation of culture, which takes on a
>life of its own independent of, but on the platform of, its genetic
>heritage? That's when it would be memetics.
Depends what you mean by "culture", of course. Some people think it only means
stuff like opera. But the only strict and systematic definition I know,
whereby information is passed between generations not only by genetics but
also via learned behavioural patterns, clearly includes the relevant types of
birdsong. The information that is learned, is the culture.
-- 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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