From: Philip Jonkers (philosophimur@dygo.com)
Date: Sat 17 May 2003 - 15:20:52 GMT
Keith:
>>PS. The meme that fruits, particularly citrus, prevent scurvy was a
>>significant element in the power of the British Navy at one time.
Scott:
>Eating fruits containing ascorbic acid sounds more like an idea (a good one
>at that) to me.
From a purely pragmatical point of view Keith is right of course.
If the British indeed found a food-source capable of keeping scurvy
at bay they were in business. If an empire can increase its Naval power,
or any power for that matter, then it's beyond dispute that it is
a good idea.
Of course, knowing that vitamin C actually is the agent that prevents
scurvy would be an even better and more sophisticated idea because then you can use other food-sources that contain vit. C as well. Moreover,
you can increase efficiency just stick to administering pure vitamin C without the disadvantages native to enveloping fruits (limited preservation time, vulnerability, storage space, etc...).
But this is beyond the minimal but sufficient objective of simply finding a cure for scurvy.
Scott:
>Memory, idea, rule and performance are great words in their own right.
>Smearing a word like "meme" across them does not seem to add much clarity.
Come on Scott, don't be such a party-pooper! Calling something a meme
brings out and emphasizes on its evolutionary aspects
(at least in my back-yard it does).
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