Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id TAA22629 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Wed, 3 Apr 2002 19:10:30 +0100 Message-ID: <001501c1db41$81e7e4e0$5e2ffea9@oemcomputer> From: "Philip Jonkers" <philipjonkers@prodigy.net> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <LAW2-F1235vyVzt2YAT000029f7@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: To be or not to be: memetics a science? Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 09:58:08 -0900 Organization: Prodigy Internet Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2600.0000 X-Mimeole: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2600.0000 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Phil:
> >To the best of my knowledge, memetics is founded on the recognition of a
> >second replicator, the meme. Similar to replicators of the first kind:
> >genes,
> >memes are also necessarily subject to evolution. Memetics tries to
describe
> >this process of evolution in which this replicator thrives, which
currently
> >is
> >human culture and may very well turn into an AI-kind of turf one day.
> >
> >Another perspective which may be considered typical for memetics
> >is to take on the viewpoint from the meme itself: the meme's eyeview
> >(possibly inspired after Dawkins' gene's eyeview expounded in The Selfish
> >Gene).
> >In this rather controversial interpretation of culture the focus is laid
on
> >the meme which exploits its habitat of rendered robotic and slavelike
hosts
> >in a
> >metaphorically and perceived selfish way to achieve domination over
`rival'
> >memes.
> >A disadvantage of this approach however is that it understates or even
> >ignores
> >the coercive force memes need to have in order to successfully persuade
> >their
> >potential hosts to adopt and propagate them.
> >
> >But that's a different story altogether. My point is that genetics has
> >opportunities to
> >test their theories regarding gene-dynamics. By symmetry, one might
expect
> >memetics
> >to be able to do the same thing regarding meme-dynamics. And that's
> >precisely the
> >question I'm trying to address here.
Grant:
> The way I see the parallel between genetics and memetics starts with
Mendel
> who noticed that the regularities of basic features in certain plants were
> governed by chance. Before that, the subject was based almost entirely on
> taxonomy and the comparison of features, starting with Aristotle.
Mendel's
> work provided a mathematical basis for observing those features that
> taxonomy had catalogued. This led to Watson and Crick discovering a
> physical basis for nature's regularity and Darwin's grand theory of
> evolution (in the reverse order).
Hi Grant, I've digged this up on the net:
"Even Darwin, in the mid and late 1800's didn't know about the laws of
segregation
and the chromosomal basis for genetics, in spite of the fact that Mendel had
already made significant
discoveries in genetics. Darwin was simply unaware of Mendel's results."
http://fig.cox.miami.edu/Faculty/Tom/bil160/03_darwin.html
It seems that the contemporaries Mendel and Darwin worked independently on
theories (inheritance
and evolution respectively) that would lay the foundation for modern
genetics.
Phil.
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