From: Steve Wallis (swallis@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue 05 Apr 2005 - 12:22:55 GMT
We seem to have that in common with memes, that some
are short sighted, while others strive for synergistic
benefits.
Just as we humans are entering a post-humanis era and
recognizing the importance of the environment (we
can't live without one), perhaps memes will learn that
theiy can improve their lot by helping we humans
(after all, we seem to be their environment).
Steve
--- Dace <edace@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Steve,
>
> > Sounds very chaos/complexity theory-ish.
> >
> > We might be ruled by giant meme-plexes, but we
> also
> > use smaller memes to serve ourselves. We can
> > deconstruct the meme-plexes into smaller chunks to
> use
> > them.
>
> Ah, but by then the smaller chunks have turned
> against us. Memes follow
> their own need to reproduce in a potentially hostile
> environment, not our
> need to bring order and coherence to our worldviews.
>
> > I'd say that both we and memes move in cycles from
> > stability to chaos and back again. Moving from
> > stability to complexity might be seen as
> > brainstorming, while moving from complexity to
> > stability involves reduction/enfolding of
> concepts.
>
> Whether it's concepts or species, punctuated
> equilibrium seems to be a
> principle of life.
>
> ted
>
>
> - --- Dace <edace@earthlink.net> wrote:
> > > It occurred to me while reading a tribute to
> Derrida
> > > in The Philosopher's
> > > Magazine (issue 29) that there's a distinct
> memetic
> > > component to the concept
> > > of deconstruction. This is Alan Montefiore on
> what
> > > he learned from Derrida:
> > >
> > > "First and foremost perhaps-- though I doubt
> whether
> > > he would have put it
> > > this way-- that the meanings of terms... never
> come
> > > as it were in hard
> > > nuggets, but that under pressure they tend
> always to
> > > spread out in all
> > > directions, to 'disseminate,' as he himself
> might
> > > indeed have said. Thus
> > > one is always at risk of finding one's own
> meanings
> > > sliding away from
> > > oneself-- as, indeed, we have been taught from
> > > another, but not totally
> > > other, perspective by Freud and his diverse
> > > followers.
> > >
> > > "Second, that within these spreading
> entanglements,
> > > if we follow them
> > > through far and diligently enough, we shall
> > > (almost?) always find elements
> > > of mutual contradiction which, when set free to
> work
> > > as such, may, like some
> > > disseminating cancer, threaten the very
> discourse in
> > > which they are embedded
> > > with reduction to a kind of self-destroying
> > > incoherence."
> > >
> > > "And third, that one should not hope or pretend
> that
> > > even the very discourse
> > > within which one may attempt to formulate these
> > > insights could maintain any
> > > claim to a securely superior status..."
> > >
> > > Seems that the memes we launch from the head
> come
> > > back to bite us in the
> > > ass.
> > >
> > > ted
>
>
>
>
===============================================================
> 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
>
>
Steve Wallis, PhD student at Fielding Graduate University (with a focus on human systems and complexity theory).
Check out http://www.easygenius.net for an appreciative way to learn about yourself and others.
===============================================================
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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