RE: Central questions of memetics

From: Richard Brodie (richard@brodietech.com)
Date: Tue May 09 2000 - 15:51:52 BST

  • Next message: Vincent Campbell: "RE: Central questions of memetics" 

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From: "Richard Brodie" <richard@brodietech.com>
To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
Subject: RE: Central questions of memetics
Date: Tue, 9 May 2000 07:51:52 -0700
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    Chuck wrote:

    << when you get any belief structure that is widespread, it's because it's
    useful.>>

    I think few would agree with this.

    << As I keep saying, religions only change as a way to adapt behavior
    (really, the body of law that governs behavior) to the new conditions
    introduced
    by the technology or economic arrangements. I know next to nothing about
    Buddhism, so I can't comment on that, but I know that Christianity has
    changed
    through the years (See"The History of God" by Karen Armstrong).>>

    And this change benefits who? The religion, right?

    [RB]
    Dawkins named the meme,for which you can love or hate
    him, and generated good controversy with his essay "viruses of the mind."

    <<Is this readily available on the net?>>

    There is a link to it at Meme Central, www.memecentral.com

    <<Give me ANY belief system and I will
    show you how it has material consequences. I'm quite serious. Give me
    anything,
    and I'll demonstrate it.>>

    You'll get no argument on this one. But "material consequences" is not the
    same as "useful," is it?

    <<It might be relevant here to say that Grandpa DOES use the internet now.
    Now he
    does new repetitive behaviors - like writing e-mails all the time about
    things
    that interest him -- and are useful. The reason Grandpa does it is because
    he has
    a lot of time to learn computers now, and it is, after all, useful to
    communicate across distances despite what poor Ms. Blackmore feels about it
    :).>>

    Then how do you explain the fact that seniors are the slowest group to adopt
    computers?

    Richard Brodie richard@brodietech.com
    http://www.memecentral.com/rbrodie.htm

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