Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id PAA02994 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Sat, 21 Oct 2000 15:24:32 +0100 X-Authentication-Warning: marlowe.umd.edu: debivort owned process doing -bs Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2000 10:20:45 -0400 (EDT) From: "Lawrence H. de Bivort" <debivort@umd5.umd.edu> X-Sender: debivort@marlowe.umd.edu To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Subject: RE: Wimsatt on memes at the Uni Pittsburgh In-Reply-To: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D3101745AA6@inchna.stir.ac.uk> Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.4.21.0010210913050.185-100000@marlowe.umd.edu> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Greetings,
> >Like I said, it's not the "knowledge" I'm concerned about. It's
>the raw
> >data. Memetics seems to be mostly a coffee-klatcsh for theorists
>who wish
> >to remain unsullied by observations. Orthodox memetics is a genre
>of
> >science fiction.
Keep in mind that this list is an academic one, and not broadly
representative of all the work that is being done on and with
memetics. The 'engineering' and ethnographical sides of memetics are not
addressed, for example. But that does not mean that these are not being
pursued elsewhere.
IMO, the academic fora have bogged down a bit on definitional issues:
memes, culture, transmission are still being wrestled with definitionally.
Those more interested in the engineering or field aspects of memes simply
specify the definitions we want to abide by and move forward, the focus
being more on communicating via clear definitions rather than the
codification of definitions that everyone then abides by. This makes the
dialogue a bit ponderous at times (everyone having to track each other's
distinctions), but it allows rapid and fruitful investigation to go ahead.
I think also that the notion of a 'community of scholars' is less
essential to those interested in field or engineering research, and so if
rapid understanding is not achieved with those more academically inclined,
the field and engineering folks tend to move on, concentrating on their
work.
- Lawrence
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