Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id TAA16457 (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 19:33:25 +0100 Message-ID: <3918144F.99827BB7@mediaone.net> Date: Tue, 09 May 2000 14:36:16 +0100 From: Chuck Palson <cpalson@mediaone.net> X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.72 [en] (WinNT; I) X-Accept-Language: en To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: Re: Central questions of memetics References: <NBBBIIDKHCMGAIPMFFPJGEJOEMAA.richard@brodietech.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Richard Brodie wrote:
> Why is this a more satisfying explanation than yours? Really, without
> experimentation all I can do is plead obviousness. This is the major
> obstacle to memetics being taken seriously: experimental results are very
> scarce as of yet. You are right to be skeptical. That said, I think anyone
> who actually wants to have an effect on the world would be foolish not to
> engineer that effect through the memetic model. I called my book "Virus of
> the Mind" and put a scary syringe on the cover, pumping ideas into a brain,
> because I wanted to push people's buttons and get them to notice the book.
> If I believed in your "utility" model that wouldn't have mattered. I jumped
> at the chance to appear on Oprah! because I know that TV spreads memes. I
> don't think you can argue that point. A book that Oprah likes sells more
> copies than a "useful" book that gets no exposure.
>
Richard - I quite agree with you on this. Memetics is a cute idea with lots of
propogandistic potential to at least get people to joke about behavior they are
best of deleting. You sound like you are very talented in the public relations
field -- in fact, you sound like a 1990s version of Abby Hoffman. I look forward
to hearing more about you and your latest memes. Best of luck.
>
> So don't get hung up on "independent existence." No one is claming any
> mystical properties of memes. Looking at culture from the point of view of
> the meme is just a trick to wrap our brains around a complex phenomenon in
> search of a useful explanation that, in spite of its immense utility, has
> had difficulty spreading.
I think you underestimate the effect of Blackmore's journey into Bhuddism on
Blackmore herself. Perhaps you would like to write something interesting about
how the Bhuddist meme has infected her brain. That could be a pretty zippy
article.
Again,
Best of luck.
>
>
> Richard Brodie richard@brodietech.com
> http://www.memecentral.com/rbrodie.htm
>
> ===============================================================
> 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
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue May 09 2000 - 19:33:45 BST