From: derek gatherer (dgatherer2002@yahoo.co.uk)
Date: Fri 06 Jun 2003 - 08:22:37 GMT
Inhibiting Imitative Terrorism through Memetic
Engineering
Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management,
June 2003, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 61-66(6)
Pech R.J.
Abstract:
Some acts of terrorism are the consequence of an
individual or group's imitation of an act of
terrorism, which has previously been publicised
through the media. Media reports of terrorism appear
to be rising, feeding a potentially increasing number
of imitative behaviours. Such reports may provide
individuals who are frustrated, angry, suicidal and/or
suffering from personality disorders with the means
and the motivation to copy what is perceived to be a
method of gaining attention or what is perceived to be
an acceptable method of venting anger and frustration.
Through memetic engineering, the interpretations that
are placed upon acts of violence can be manipulated to
appear undesirable to even the most unbalanced minds,
which it is argued, should inhibit the spread of
imitative terrorism.
From imitation to invention: creating commodities in
eighteenth-century Britain
The Economic History Review, February 2002, vol.
55, no. 1, pp. 1-30(30)
Berg M.
Abstract:
This article presents the history of new goods in the
eighteenth century as a part of the broader history of
invention and industrialization. It focuses on product
innovation in manufactured commodities as this engages
with economic, technological and cultural theories.
Recent theories of consumer demand are applied to the
invention of commodities in the eighteenth century;
special attention is given to the process of imitation
in product innovation. The theoretical framework for
imitation can be found in evolutionary theories of
memetic transmission, in archaeological theories of
skeuomorphous, and in eighteenth-century theories of
taste and aesthetics. Inventors, projectors, economic
policy makers, and commercial and economic writers of
the period dwelt upon the invention of new British
products. The emulative, imitative context for their
invention made British consumer goods the distinctive
modern alternatives to earlier Asian and European
luxuries.
EVOLUTION AND MEMES: THE HUMAN BRAIN AS A SELECTIVE
IMITATION DEVICE
Cybernetics and Systems, 1 January 2001, vol. 32,
no. 1-2, pp. 225-255(31)
Blackmore S.[1]
[1] Department of Psychology, University of the West
of England, Bristol, United Kingdom
Abstract:
The meme is an evolutionary replicator, defined as
information copied from person-to-person by imitation.
I suggest that taking memes into account may provide a
better understanding of human evolution in the
following way. Memes appeared in human evolution when
our ancestors became capable of imitation. From this
time on, two replicators memes and genes coevolved.
Successful memes changed the selective environment,
favoring genes for the ability to copy them. I have
called this process memetic drive. Meme-gene
coevolution produced a big brain that is especially
good at copying certain kinds of memes. This is an
example of the more general process in which a
replicator and its replication machinery evolve
together. The human brain has been designed not just
for the benefit of human genes, but for the
replication of memes. It is a selective imitation
device. Some problems of definition are discussed and
suggestions made for future research.
The business of memes: memetic possibilities for
marketing and management
Management Decision, 4 May 2000, vol. 38, no. 4,
pp. 272-279(8)
Williams R.[1]
[1] Dundee Graduate School of Management, Scotland
Abstract:
Introduces the business community to the new science
of memes. The roots of the meme concept from Richard
Dawkins’ original work in the area of biology to the
social (business) world are outlined, and the value of
its study (memetics) proposed. One claim from memetics
is that it can help provide an understanding of the
human mind. This claim is explored within the context
of advertising and management theory. The conclusion
from this project to operationalise the meme concept
for a business audience is, however, mixed. Whilst
memetics has an intuitive appeal to it, much more is
still needed before mankind’s mind may be understood,
“filled” and manipulated at the discretion of
advertisers and management thinkers using a memetic
understanding.
Keywords: Marketing; Advertising; Theory; Psychology
Cultural Diversity in People's Understanding and Uses
of Time
Applied Psychology An International Review, July
2003, vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 363-382(20)
Brislin R.W.; Kim E.S.[1]
[1] University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hawaii
The global economy and international business ventures
have brought many occasions for the development of
interpersonal relationships among people who were
socialised into different cultures. People's use of
time, according to Hall, is a “silent language” that
affects their everyday behaviors. The authors identify
ten concepts that summarise how culture affects
intercultural interactions that are part of
international business dealings: 1. Clock and event
time: Do people follow set schedules or let the event
take its natural course before moving to another
event? 2. Punctuality: How sensitive are people to
deviations from appointed times? 3. The relation
between task and social time during the workday; 4.
Whether people do one activity at a time or do many at
once; 5. Efficiency vs. effectiveness; 6. Fast and
slow paces of life; 7. How people deal with long
periods of silence; 8. People's time orientation:
past, present and the future; 9. The symbolic meaning
of time; 10. Cultural differences in importance of
work and leisure time. The authors also provide
insights based on these ten concepts for business
people who travel extensively to other cultures and
who accept long-term assignments in other countries.
The ghosts in the meme machine
History of the Human Sciences, May 2002, vol. 15,
no. 2, pp. 55-68(14)
Jahoda G.[1]
[1] University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
Abstract:
The notion of 'memes' as replicators similar to genes,
but concerned with cultural units, was put forward by
Dawkins (1976). Blackmore (1999) used this notion to
elaborate an ambitious theory designed to account for
numerous aspects of human evolution and psychology.
Her theory is based on the human capacity for
imitation, and although the operation of the 'memes'
is said to be purely mechanical, the figurative
language used implies that their 'actions' are
purposive. This article will show that imitation had
been regarded as important for human advance well
before Darwinism. Moreover, at the end of the 19th
century descriptions of the functioning of imitation
in society had been put forward that closely parallel
those given by Blackmore. Hence it is argued that what
is convincing about her thesis is not new, and what is
new is speculative and highly questionable.
Probability misjudgment, cognitive ability, and belief
in the paranormal
British Journal of Psychology, 1 May 2002, vol. 93,
no. 2, pp. 169-177(9)
Musch J. [1]; Ehrenberg K. [1]
[1] University of Bonn, Germany
Abstract:
According to the probability misjudgment account of
paranormal belief (Blackmore & Troscianko, 1985),
believers in the paranormal tend to wrongly attribute
remarkable coincidences to paranormal causes rather
than chance. Previous studies have shown that belief
in the paranormal is indeed positively related to
error rates in probabilistic reasoning. General
cognitive ability could account for a relationship
between these two variables without assuming a causal
role of probabilistic reasoning in the forming of
paranormal beliefs, however. To test this alternative
explanation, a belief in the paranormal scale (BPS)
and a battery of probabilistic reasoning tasks were
administered to 123 university students. Confirming
previous findings, a significant correlation between
BPS scores and error rates in probabilistic reasoning
was observed. This relationship disappeared, however,
when cognitive ability as measured by final
examination grades was controlled for. Lower cognitive
ability correlated substantially with belief in the
paranormal. This finding suggests that differences in
general cognitive performance rather than specific
probabilistic reasoning skills provide the basis for
paranormal beliefs.
Consciousness in Meme Machines
Journal of Consciousness Studies, 2003, vol. 10,
no. 4-5, pp. 19-30(12)
Blackmore S.
Abstract:
Setting aside the problems of recognising
consciousness in a machine, this article considers
what would be needed for a machine to have human-like
consciousness. Human-like consciousness is an
illusion; that is, it exists but is not what it
appears to be. The illusion that we are a conscious
self having a stream of experiences is constructed
when memes compete for replication by human hosts.
Some memes survive by being promoted as personal
beliefs, desires, opinions and possessions, leading to
the formation of a memeplex (or selfplex). Any machine
capable of imitation would acquire this type of
illusion and think it was conscious. Robots that
imitated humans would acquire an illusion of self and
consciousness just as we do. Robots that imitated each
other would develop their own separate languages,
cultures and illusions of self. Distributed selfplexes
in large networks of machines are also possible.
Unanswered questions include what remains of
consciousness without memes, and whether artificial
meme machines can ever transcend the illusion of self
consciousness.
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