From: Wade T. Smith (wade.t.smith@verizon.net)
Date: Wed 14 May 2003 - 19:54:54 GMT
Richard opines-
> You yourself, in this very post, claim SOME information is
> transmitted from mind to mind. That SOME is memes.
Sorry, but, no, I did not. Below is what I wrote and what I claim and
what I said and what I meant.
"...the information in one mind is, at best, a reasonably
accurate representation of the information in another's, and the
maintenance of the accuracy of this representation is the duty of
culture, as well as a function of a mind in a society of minds."
At no time or point is a representation 'SOME' of the original. There
is not one molecule of paint from Picasso's brush in the representation
of 'Guernica' that I see in my book from the Reina Sofia in Madrid, or
even in my memory of being there and seeing it.
The fact that I've spoken at length with a visiting Basque lawyer and
diplomat about issues such as freedom and oppression, also contain not
one iota of his blood or brain or one molecule of Picasso's painting
about his homeland, and, while it is the direct purpose of such
discussions to begin to reorganize and construct similar
representations, and to understand viewpoints and experiences, not one
feeling he's ever had as he's strolled in his streets can be
transmitted to me so that I'll feel them in my feet.
There is no information being passed from one mind to another. There is
only performance (from a performer or an artifact) based upon
experience, and perceptual representation (by an observer) based upon
interest and venue. Memetic success is quantified by the similarities
between the first performance and the performance to follow. Cultural
evolution is not possible without a following performance, and only a
successful memetic (or viral) performance prompts the behavior of
continuance.
No meme is an island.
Memeinthemind advocates- you, certainly- might call it all Hawaii....
- Wade
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