Re: Durkheim redux

From: Kenneth Van Oost (kennethvanoost@belgacom.net)
Date: Sun 10 Apr 2005 - 15:14:47 GMT

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    ----- Original Message ----- From: Scott Chase <osteopilus@yahoo.com> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2005 2:02 AM Subject: Re: Durkheim redux Scott wrote,

    > Someone could argue that given our limited cognitive
    > resources ideas could compete for space *within* our
    > noggins. I know the shelf space I have is limited and
    > limits how my books will be displayed for my perusal.
    > The time I have to read is limited too. Based on what
    > books I see that catch my eye, I'll need to budget my
    > time accordingly. My processing capacities are limited
    > and memory sux so this will play a role in what ideas
    > in that limited subset of books stick with me over
    > time. Yet external factors influenced the writing,
    > publication and marketing of these books. The
    > bookstore I bought them from might not have them in
    > stock, so my ability to search amazon and other
    > databases plays a role in what I might buy. Some books
    > go out of print so interlibrary loan could be a factor
    > in the cases where they are not available for sale and
    > hard to find, so I can check them out and read them
    > for the limited time of the checkout period allowed by
    > a library system with formulated policies in that
    > regard. Speed reading ain't my strong suit.

    << In a sense they have to of course, but you can look at it from the POV of your bookshelf, if it would have one... As a off- spin of my article A Solipsistic View On Memetics a thread started called ' Point of Memetic Saturation', in which 2 points saw the daylight. 1_ a point of saturation, as in our brain can take no more_ your shelf can take no more books. 2_ a point of saturation as in there were no ideas left to be ' memed ', Amazon would no longer provide you with info to buy books.

    The discussion went on, if we ever reach point 1 the world would have reached a status quo, to get more books on your shelf itself have to grown a few inches, but that will take years, and in the meanwhile, books will be written. If we take 2, if no more books were to be written, your shelf wouldn 't have the urge/ need to grow, again a status quo would have been reached.

    So somewhere down the road, an ' outside ' influence has to be there in order to get the plank growing or to give birth to more imagination to write even more books.

    Or is it just, not primarily the changes in fidelity ( your plank will grow; books will be written) that create material progress, but rather the ability of ( new) memes to combine with stored ones in the brain and evolve into unique new memeplexes !? ( your plank hasn't to grow if writers find new ways to combine the existing ones on your shelf).

    Regards,

    Kenneth

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