Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id MAA18308 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Sat, 3 Jun 2000 12:04:43 +0100 From: Robin Faichney <robin@faichney.demon.co.uk> Organization: Reborn Technology To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: Re: Primate Rights Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2000 11:42:35 +0100 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.21] Content-Type: text/plain References: <3937D4D2.2C8D2873@mediaone.net> Message-Id: <00060311574801.00520@faichney> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
On Fri, 02 Jun 2000, Chuck wrote:
>Robin Faichney wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 01 Jun 2000, Chuck wrote:
>> >Robin Faichney wrote:
>> >
>> >> On Thu, 01 Jun 2000, Chuck wrote:
>> >> >Before trying to reinvent the wheel on this one, why not read what other people
>> >> >have said on the subject
>> >>
>> >> What subject's that, Chuck? (Not that I'd suspect you of equivocation!)
>> >>
>> >People's emotional reaction to different enviornments.
>>
>> OK, so help me out here, Chuck. You have, I presume, done that reading.
>> So what's your take on biophilia?
>
>I don't have the time to dig out the bibliography now. My only point is that on most
>topics discussed here there is a substantial body of literature that is quite helpful
>and prevents having to reinvent the wheel.
Precisely. And that information is what memetics is all about. Like it or not,
it replicates, every time someone takes on board something they read in a book.
And don't say "it doesn't replicate, it is replicated" because that's not a
meaningful distinction. Exactly the same can be said about genes, but the
active/passive dichotomy on which it is based is relative, not absolute -- a
fact that many people have difficulty with. You are obviously one of them,
and to remedy that, I don't think I can recommend anything better than to
read Dennett's book Darwin's Dangerous Idea, and let these memes into your
brain, to cross-fertilise those already there. It will help you understand
the principles of genetics, as well as memetics, and what they have in
common. Of course, if you're scared of being infected/converted you should
maintain your memetic isolation. And here's a prediction: that's exactly
what you will do, because you have too great an emotional investment in your
current ideas to take any real risks with them.
-- Robin Faichney===============================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
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