Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id CAA02268 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Thu, 11 Jan 2001 02:32:27 GMT Message-Id: <200101110229.VAA05601@mail5.lig.bellsouth.net> From: "Joe E. Dees" <joedees@bellsouth.net> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2001 20:35:26 -0600 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Re: DNA Culture .... Trivia? In-reply-to: <20010110103738.A538@reborntechnology.co.uk> References: <000901c07a55$ab7eda00$cc90ef9b@Intekom5001>; from dini@intekom.co.za on Tue, Jan 09, 2001 at 01:40:47PM +0200 X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.01b) Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Date sent: Wed, 10 Jan 2001 10:37:38 +0000
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Subject: Re: DNA Culture .... Trivia?
From: Robin Faichney <robin@reborntechnology.co.uk>
Send reply to: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> On Tue, Jan 09, 2001 at 01:40:47PM +0200, Dini wrote:
> > Hi there,
> >
> > I am a new member on this List and am greatly interested in Memes. I was
> >first introduced to the concept by Douglas Klimesh (he may be on your List
> >as well). After reading the letter from T.J. Olney and the reply from one
> >of your other List members, I wonder if I got the idea of Memes correct.
>
> Yes, except for a couple of points...
>
> > To me, genes are genes and memes are memes. I almost see the memes as
> >the esoteric equivalent of genes, but NOT tied together, like the two are
> >a duality. Genes get transferred the 'normal' way through reproduction,
> >while I understand that memes, which are totally non-physical, get
> >transferred from person to person, when people have mental contact
> >with one another. For instance, me reading about memetics, whether in
> >a book, magazine, letters of e-mails, sends me a lot of memes (almost
> >knowledge). Just two people meeting in the street and looking at one
> >another will transfer memes.
>
> No, they probably won't. The minimum requirement for memetic transmission
> is information transfer via behaviour. And though memes are items of
> information rather than physical things, they have to be carried by,
> or as I like to say encoded in, physical things. Mainly, brain states,
> patterns of behaviour, and artefacts such as books.
>
> >Everything we learn, necessarily from others or other outside sources,
> >fills us with memes. At the same time we transfer memes to the people we
> >come into contact with. I used to call it "touching" people, and people
> >"touching" us in return.
>
> > This acquired characteristics (Lamarque would have loved this) become
> >part of the Personality, AND MAY THEN WELL BE TRANSFERRED TO FUTURE
> >GENERATIONS in the form of genes in the DNA.
>
> Absolutely not. This goes against all current theory and findings in
> the relevant disciplines. I know of only one person who believes this,
> and I can't understand why he clings to it. While there are certainly
> many fascinating meme/gene interactions, their transmission paths remain
> entirely separate: genes through biological reproduction, and memes
> through behaviour and/or artefacts. There is neither any evidence for,
> nor any theory regarding how it would happen, that memes could become
> encoded in the genes and transmitted with them.
>
I must fully concur with Robin's post.
> --
> Robin Faichney
> robin@reborntechnology.co.uk
>
> ===============================================================
> 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
>
>
===============================================================
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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