Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id SAA27746 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 9 Jan 2001 18:54:09 GMT Message-ID: <000b01c07a6e$7d6c1380$d563b8d0@wwa> From: "Lawrence de Bivort" <debivort@umd5.umd.edu> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <5.0.2.1.0.20010109112458.02119ac0@pop3.htcomp.net> Subject: Re: DNA Culture .... Trivia? Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2001 14:00:52 -0500 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
From: Mark Mills <mmills@htcomp.net>
> Sounds like you have started out with a Gatherer-meme understanding. I
> understand the logic, but think we would be better off with the substrate
> based Lynch-meme. As it stands, the substrate-free definition makes it
> very hard to collect empirical data. Empirical data is minimum
> requirement for starting a scientific study.
The relative utility of either approach depends, I think, on what one is
interested in. One can be interested in the wiring of a phone system, or in
the communication that it allows. For those of use interested in the
communicational nature of memes and the effect of memes in society, the
wiring--the substrate--is not of primary importance, nor do we need to know
a lot about it to understrand how memes operate at the communicative and
sociological levels. Of course, neuro-biologists may be more interested in
the substrate than in the 'ideas' that pass through it.
From a sociological and communicational POV, one can carry out empirical
research easily, without knowing much about the substrate. For example:
fidelity of transmission, rates of dissemination, and resistence to
alteration can all be determined without brain/substrate knowledge.
- Lawrence
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