From: Richard Brodie (richard@brodietech.com)
Date: Thu 19 Jun 2003 - 16:45:14 GMT
Scott wrote:
<<If identical copying of ideas betwwen the minds of individuals is the acid
test of cultural replicators, how fundamental to an understanding of human
behavior can memetics be? Sounds like more of a sidelight to the messy nitty
gritty.>>
Assuming you mean "understanding of culture" -- because "human behavior" has
a lot to do with genetic evolution as well -- I suppose it's as fundamental
as the identical copying of genes is to genetics. But look, Scott: think
about the explosion of culture since words were written down, vastly
increasing identical copying of ideas. Think about the explosion of
technology since mass data storage and mass communication became available
for the identical copying of data, methods, and computer programs.
The canonical cultural replicator is a word. Words are copied with 100%
fidelity billions of times a day. We are in love with words, addicted to
them because they have the ability to tickle our emotional responses and
make us do things. I think that's interesting. I think there are few things
more interesting than that.
Richard Brodie
www.memecentral.com
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