Re: Technology vs. culture

From: Bill Spight (bspight@pacbell.net)
Date: Sat May 20 2000 - 03:58:40 BST

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Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 19:58:40 -0700
From: Bill Spight <bspight@pacbell.net>
Subject: Re: Technology vs. culture
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
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    Dear Chuck,

    > I do, however, have a problem calling it a mutation.
    > Mutations are accidents of the system - like a stray UV ray mutates a gene. I
    > don't see how this is necessary a random process -- it sounds like it could
    > have been a deliberate mataphorical process - of using a word metaphorically
    > to describe another event.

    Mutation is a change, or a changed thing. Natural genetic
    mutation is random in the sense of being unplanned,
    unpredictable, the result of chaotic processes or errors in
    regular processes.

    > Also, I am a bit confused about what altered. Are
    > you saying that probe altered into prove?

    "Prove" comes from Latin "probare", to test. The OED
    distinguishes two main senses, "I. To make trial of, try, test. .
    ... . II. To make good, establish." The first sense died out in the
    19th century, although it was the closest to the original Latin
    sense. The saying survived, but with altered meaning.

    > How would memetics see this differently from etymology - is there a
    > difference?

    AFAIK, the field of memetic mutation is not well developed. It is
    an area I am interested in. I think that there are several
    processes by which memes are mutated, some deliberate, but most
    not, or not fully so. (How deliberate is a pun?)

    Best,

    Bill

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