Re: transmission

From: joedees@bellsouth.net
Date: Mon 19 May 2003 - 18:28:06 GMT

  • Next message: Keith Henson: "Re: transmission"

    > on 5/18/03 11:08 PM, joedees@bellsouth.net at joedees@bellsouth.net
    > wrote:
    >
    >
    > >> In a similar fashion, I don't have trouble understanding the claims
    > >> of people who believe that the earth is only 6000 years old. But I
    > >> don't think those claims are correct.
    > >>
    > > That is your opinion. Now how about some support for it or an
    > > argument against the alternatives? It's easy to do against
    > > creationists, but even easier to do against Wade's schema, which
    > > seems to consist of perpetually creating sophisticated performances
    > > ex nihilo and dissolving them instantaneously, concomittant with the
    > > end of the performance, never to be seen again. Indeed, in the
    > > absence of cognitive templates, it is difficult to comprehend how
    > > people are able to successfully negotiate complex and/or lengthy
    > > performances any better than monkeys can type Shakespeare.
    >
    > I don't know about Wade, but I'm not denying the existence of
    > "cognitive templates." I'm just denying that that cognitive equipment
    > contains any memes. As for justification, read my book on music, read
    > the notes I've just uploaded, read my papers on "Cultural as an
    > Evolutionary Arena" and "Culture's Evolutionary Landscape: A Reply to
    > Hans-Cees Speel" at my website (URL below).
    >
    Cognitive templates are specific strings of meaning/significance that are learned and taught, that is, transmitted and received, and thus replicated and therefore proliferate. They may be modified (mutation), and the mutations may be accepted or rejected (selection). These two processes, taken together, are constitutive of evolution. I cannot think of anything to else to call replicating, proliferating, mutating, with mutations selected for or against, evolving cognitive templates EXCEPT memes. Can you?
    >
    > William L. Benzon
    > 708 Jersey Avenue, Apt. 2A
    > Jersey City, NJ 07302
    > 201 217-1010
    >
    > "You won't get a wild heroic ride to heaven on pretty little
    > sounds."--George Ives
    >
    > Mind-Culture Coevolution: http://asweknowit.ca/evcult/
    >
    >
    >
    > ===============================================================
    > 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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