Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id MAA14112 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 9 May 2000 12:26:25 +0100 Message-ID: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D31CEB157@inchna.stir.ac.uk> From: Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk> To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Subject: RE: Central questions of memetics Date: Tue, 9 May 2000 12:24:36 +0100 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21) Content-Type: text/plain Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Thanks Bill,
Yes, indeed but what about the people giving the adulation? At a small
social group level, you've got bond-forming and maintaining, but how many of
his fans does Michael Jordan know (and vice versa)? And I'm sure we're
familiar with the concept of widows & orphans in sport, the families of
fanatical sports followers who definitely suffer as a result, we're talking
about behaviours which are quite widespread around the world, relating to a
myriad of different sports, that seemd to defy being satisfactorily
explained by genetic advantage (Wilson's 'mistake' argument is about as
useful as Marx's attempts to explain away working class acceptance of
capitalism as 'false consciousness').
This allows for that old joke, about an old man at the Superbowl sitting
next to an empty seat and the man on the other side of him eventually asks
him 'why's that seat empty?'. The old man replies 'For twenty years my wife
and I have been coming to the Superbowl together, but she died recently'.
The other man says, 'I'm really sorry to hear that. It must be difficult
for you being here alone- why didn't you ask someone else in your family to
come with you?'. The old man replies 'None of them could make it... They're
all at the funeral'.
Vincent Campbell
> ----------
> From: Bill Spight
> Reply To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> Sent: Monday, May 8, 2000 6:29 pm
> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> Subject: Re: Central questions of memetics
>
> Dear Vincent,
>
> > Sport, is in fact an ideal topic for memetics, as it can demonstrate
> just
> > how tenuous sociobiology's genetic advantage argument must be. Perhaps
> it
> > makes sense for the professional sports people (atheleticism undoubtedly
> > offers genetic advantages), but what about the rest of us who spend lots
> of
> > our time and resources (financial and emotional) simply spectating? I
> like
> > sport, I have nothing 'against' it, but I am interested in the level of
> > investment people place on sport.
>
> Rewarding displays of prowess by praise and adulation would seem
> to me to have benefits in relatively small social groups for
> those whose well-being depends upon the use of that prowess for
> the good of the group. In modern sports that link is lost,
> however. OTOH, as a ritual of social cohesion, sport still
> provides some benefits to the fans in their relations to each
> other. OC, that kind of benefit is not confined to sports. One
> Dead Head can immediately appreciate another.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Bill
>
> ===============================================================
> 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
>
===============================================================
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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