From: Lawrence DeBivort (debivort@umd5.umd.edu)
Date: Wed 06 Aug 2003 - 00:48:00 GMT
Agreed, agreed...
I do wish Dawkins had been a bit more thoughtful about language. Maybe he
didn't anticipate that "memes" would excite as much interest as it did, so
hurried on to the main themes he was exploring.
Cheers,
Lawry
> -----Original Message-----
> From: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk [mailto:fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk]On Behalf
> Of AaronLynch@aol.com
> Sent: Tue, August 05, 2003 5:54 PM
> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> Subject: Re: Defining the word "replicator" (was Re: Silent memes)
>
>
> In a message dated 8/5/2003 10:48:09 AM Central Daylight
> Time, Lawrence DeBivort <debivort@umd5.umd.edu> writes:
>
> > I wonder whether there is confusing arising from Dawkins' terminology?
> >
> > A "replicator" should be the thing that is doing the
> replication, and not
> > that thing that is being replicated.
> >
> > The thing that is being replicated should be called a
> "REPLICATEE", and the
> > thing doing the replication should be called the "REPLICATOR" -- this
> > reflects standard subject/object usage, unless I am mistaken.
> >
> > Does this help?
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Lawry
>
> Thanks, Lawry.
>
> In one way, this would be more logical terminology. But the
> word "replicatee" could easily be misconstrued in another
> way, as referring to a person who is replicated. In any
> case, the term "replicator" has already been introduced
> into the literature. And scientific terms often have
> technical meanings different from those of mainstream
> usage. For purposes of science, it matters that the term be
> clearly defined.
>
> --Aaron Lynch
>
> Thought Contagion Science Page:
> http://www.thoughtcontagion.com
>
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This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
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