Re: I know one when I see one

From: Bill Spight (bspight@pacbell.net)
Date: Sat 26 Oct 2002 - 21:39:01 GMT

  • Next message: Van oost Kenneth: "Re: electric meme bombs"

    Dear Ted,

    > Memetics is a hypothesis that culture can be reduced to its "atomic"
    > structure, that the indivisible unit of culture, and not human
    > consciousness, is what provides its guiding principle.

    No, it's not. Dawkins and others are clear that memes are not indivisible. Nor do they raise the meme to the level of a guiding principle, although they may find some guiding principles to be memes.

    > "Meme" would
    > cease to have a unique meaning and could just as easily be replaced with
    > "word, habit, tune," etc.

    I do not know about habits, but words and tunes are identified as memes.
    (I use the passive because it is not just me. You are misrepresenting memetics.)

    > The question of memetics is the question of
    > whether these elements of culture carry their own momentum, their own drive
    > to reproduce.

    Bullshit.

    > If not, memetics is finished.

    Likewise.

    Ted, I am not going to read any more of your note. You need to find out what you are talking about. Do some study.

    Ciao,

    Bill

    =============================================================== 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 2.1.5 : Sat 26 Oct 2002 - 21:42:21 GMT