Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id QAA26873 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Thu, 11 May 2000 16:35:06 +0100 From: "Richard Brodie" <richard@brodietech.com> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Subject: RE: a memetic experiment- an eIe opener Date: Thu, 11 May 2000 08:33:09 -0700 Message-ID: <NBBBIIDKHCMGAIPMFFPJMEMKEMAA.richard@brodietech.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2911.0) X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2919.6600 In-Reply-To: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D31CEB180@inchna.stir.ac.uk> Importance: Normal Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Vincent wrote:
<<Well, Richard Brodie's response to one of my comments on the complexity of
audiences' interaction with media content, on this list, is a good example.
You want proof that primal factors sell, he said, look at the rows of
romance novels in bookstores.>>
Actually that was not my point. My point was in response to your saying that
it was difficult to predict what would sell. I think romance-novel authors
have the formula down to a science. Each book sells relatively few copies;
they are almost a commodity.
<< It is that kind of simplification of the
media's social role that scientist's sometimes rather loosely use, even when
criticising others for their lack of scientific process. The point being
that research shows that audience interactions with media, even romance
novels, is more complicated than anyone thought. Although I'm not saying
he's wrong, only that it's a rather throwaway comment, that some people have
spent a rather long time thinking about (I believe Janice Radway has written
about romance novels, although I don't know what she says, or if it would be
useful in our context).>>
I'm not a scientist. I'm a college dropout. Since I think interactions of
any sort are unimaginably complex, it would be difficult for them to be more
complex than ayone thought if that anyone is me. However, memetics is a
probabilistic business. Just because we don't know the exact results doesn't
mean we can't predict the general results. If not, Vegas would go out of
business in short order.
Richard Brodie richard@brodietech.com www.memecentral.com/rbrodie.htm
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