RE: Central questions of memetics

From: Richard Brodie (richard@brodietech.com)
Date: Mon May 22 2000 - 22:25:25 BST

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From: "Richard Brodie" <richard@brodietech.com>
To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
Subject: RE: Central questions of memetics
Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 14:25:25 -0700
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    Chuck wrote:

    <<So you provide me with a example of a meme (besides the annoying ditty
    that keeps
    repeating itself in your head) that is not useful in either direct practical
    terms or indirectly through establishment of alliances and status (which in
    turn
    lead to access to material resources), and you have falsified my theory.
    Your
    frustration that I do find usefulness where you find only triviality is a
    comment
    on the differences we have in method and theory.>>

    Do you mean useful to the genes of the individual who hosts the meme?
    Clearly there are plenty of counterexamples. Riding motorcycles, vasectomy,
    birth control, unprotected sex, crossing the street, drinking, eating red
    meat...

    If all you mean is that holding the meme has some psychic value, then you
    have left the bounds of sociobiology and entered memetics.

    Richard Brodie richard@brodietech.com
    http://www.memecentral.com/rbrodie.htm

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