Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id WAA24452 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Thu, 18 Apr 2002 22:27:39 +0100 Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 17:21:37 -0400 Subject: Re: Thoughts and Perceptions Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed From: "Wade T.Smith" <wade_smith@harvard.edu> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In-Reply-To: <003f01c1e6f6$8720c6a0$5e2ffea9@oemcomputer> Message-Id: <449F3EC6-5312-11D6-A1A2-003065B9A95A@harvard.edu> X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.481) Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
On Thursday, April 18, 2002, at 12:31 , Philip Jonkers wrote:
> Humans have a tendency to cling to non-sensical
> systems that give them a sense of security, albeit of a false kind of
> course.
Totally true, abjectly enough.
Science has found nothing to support any of the supposed mechanisms of
astrology, more precisely.
Thanks for prodding me.
> Some, such as E = mc^2, even make it to
> become known over virtually the entire human population. If that didn't
> happen through memetic transmission then what else mechanism was
> responsible?
Here we have the problem of 'discovery' and of 'concept' again. If the
universe has a basic working paradigm, such as, in our representation,
E=mc^2, then it is _discovered_, and not created. Yes, the propagation
of this discovery may be called memetic, but the discovery, and perhaps
the representation itself, may not be.
- Wade
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