Re: Props

From: Wade T. Smith (wade.t.smith@verizon.net)
Date: Sat 24 May 2003 - 03:12:28 GMT

  • Next message: joedees@bellsouth.net: "Re: selfsameness"

    On Friday, May 23, 2003, at 08:50 PM, memetics-digest wrote:

    > . and if [the cognitively stored knowledge of what these
    > physical properties (bats, ball, glove, field, bases, and so on)
    > represent,
    > are intended for, can be used for, were designed for, etc., ..]
    > have been communicated, by an other, to the person who possesses
    > this knowledge, it cannot be denied that this knowledge is comprised of
    > already-replicated memes.

    There is no possible connection besides wishful thinking between knowledge and memes. The only unobjectionable conclusion to be drawn by a situation where two expressions of knowledge are similar is that the expressions are similar, because we have, as in the Clever Hans episode of training and behavior, similar expressions that are not, in any way, communications of similar learnings.

    All cultural venues are examples of parameters evolved to impart similar learnings and produce similar expressions.

    As practice makes perfect, performance in a cultural venue also tunes the parameters to produce more and more similar replicated performances. This is a dynamic process, and, in extreme cases, produces performers who know nothing except what to do and when to do it, not why they do it. Armies. Cults. Liberal democrats.... In the more prevalent and milder cases, we have benign performances practically without meaning, 'how do you do' 'nice to meet you' 'have a nice day' 'y'all come back now, y'hear?' 'It was so cool that Ruben won' which are performed in stepped and measured allowances, much like chemical tracers producing chores in ant colonies. Culture is not that far removed from such sources, and memetics is not either. Certainly not enough to demand special causes of more easily reasoned effects.

    As I said, there is no need to produce the memeinthemind when culture can be explained without it. That is why positing such a cause is theology, not science.

    - Wade

    =============================================================== 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 archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sat 24 May 2003 - 03:18:43 GMT