From: joedees@bellsouth.net
Date: Mon 10 Mar 2003 - 01:03:03 GMT
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> >From: joedees@bellsouth.net
> >Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> >To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> >Subject: Re: memetics-digest V1 #1309
> >Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 17:33:30 -0600
> >
> > >
> > > On Sunday, March 9, 2003, at 03:17 PM, memetics-digest wrote:
> > >
> > > > A chair is
> > > > made to sit upon; a book is written to be read.
> > >
> > > I put a book on a chair to reach a lightbulb that needs changing.
> > >
> >We can use things for other than their original purpose, but this
> >fact also acknowledges their original purpose.
> >
> This discussion is converging upon Gould's notion of exaptations.
> Things intended for a specific purpose may have some unintended
> consequences which make them candidates for co-option for a different
> purpose. A large book *might* be useful as a boost to get you closer
> to a lightbulb to change it, but I'd hesitate to use one out of
> concerns for safety. An appropraitely sized step ladder would be a
> better choice. But since a book, especiall Gould's recent _The
> Structure of Evolutionary Theory_ may be large enough to add several
> inches above a chair's height (I don't think a chair is a good
> substitute for a step ladder either BTW) I can see the point, but do
> NOT try this at home.
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> Nonetheless, Joe, how does the additional height gained by the books
> use in conjunction with the chair in place of a ladder acknowledge the
> book's original purpose, as a storage device for written language
> addressing a particular subject matter? I'd think the mere dimensions
> of the book as used in boosting one's reach atop a chair would have
> little relationship to it's original purposed, aside from the amount
> of words the author put into the book would influence the number of
> pags an given type size and the thickness of each page, this would
> infuence the dimensions of the book and thus the degree of height
> increase afforded.
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By reference to the phrase "other than its original purpose".
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> ===============================================================
> 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 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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