Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id GAA16171 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 30 Apr 2002 06:47:45 +0100 Message-ID: <005a01c1f008$c8d82e60$5e2ffea9@oemcomputer> From: "Philip Jonkers" <philipjonkers@prodigy.net> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <B8F2F129.1149C%bbenzon@mindspring.com> Subject: Re: Saving the ethnosphere Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 22:35:05 -0700 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:
> > The less languages around the less potential confusion will be brought
about
> > by people trying to communicate
> > as the probability increases that they speak the same language.
Extinction
> > of redundant languages is a natural
> > process in an environment with progressive global communication.
> > Trying to intervene in this natural process, in the sense of trying to
> > preserve superfluous languages, to me seems to
> > be as artificial as genetic engineering is to biological evolution. A
> > difference between the two being that, unlike the latter, the former
lacks
> > possible benefit other than one of sentimental and/or historic value.
William:
> I gather then, that you approve of these "natural" events:
>
>
> > It is not change that threatens the ethnosphere; it is power. Dynamic
> > living cultures are being destroyed because of political and economic
> > decisions made by outside entities. In the upper reaches of the Orinoco,
> > a gold rush brings disease to the Yanomami, killing a quarter of the
> > population in a decade. In Nigeria, pollutants from the oil industry so
> > saturate the floodplain of the Niger River, homeland of the Ogoni, that
> > the once fertile soils can no longer be farmed. That such conflicts
> > result from deliberate choices made by men is both discouraging and
> > empowering. If people are the agents of cultural loss, we can also be
> > the facilitators of cultural survival.
>
> The general problem is a deep and difficult one and I certainly don't know
> how to deal with it. But your comment indicates that you are a mindless
> fool.
Did somebody ever accuse you for jumping to conclusions?
Take a cold shower please...
Phil.
===============================================================
This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Apr 30 2002 - 06:59:50 BST