Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id DAA19749 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Wed, 7 Feb 2001 03:51:36 GMT Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 09:19:05 +0530 (IST) From: Dr Able Lawrence <able@sgpgi.ac.in> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: Re: Darwinian evolution vs memetic evolution In-Reply-To: <3A7FF79E.32500.380DBC5@localhost> Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.10.10102070918160.26716-100000@sushrut.sgpgi.ac.in> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Right Joe,
Everyone tries to his best. I will write some more observations on
Choice later after my OPD
Able
On Tue, 6 Feb 2001 joedees@bellsouth.net wrote:
> On 6 Feb 2001, at 9:55, Bill Spight wrote:
>
> > Dear Able,
> >
> > > I would say that the essential difference between Darwinian
> > > evolution
> > > and the evolution of memes is that in Genetic evolution there is no
> > > conscious choice by the participating players (the subjects who are
> > > evolving) while there is definitely conscious or subconscious
> > > involved choosing whether a meme is imitated or for that matter
> > > whether a new meme is created, sort of Lamarckian so to say.
> >
> > But in memetic evolution the evolving entities (memes) do not engage
> > in conscious or subconscious choice, either. Human beings make choices
> > that affect the survivability and replicability of memes. The role of
> > memes in those choices is an interesting question, but the memes
> > themselves do not exercise choice.
> >
> People choose a lot of the memes they choose to accept and
> reject for their own benefit, and none for the memes' benefit.
> Human culture is not running a meme charity. Some memes fly in
> under the radar, and are inadvertently or subliminally absorbed.
> But we make the comprehensive absorption of valued others
> among our most cherished goals, as we do the continual rejection
> of despised memes. We imperfectly yet pretty well can filter the
> virulents from the symbionts once we have a modicum of
> experience in the world and learn the Bad Tricks (with apologies to
> Daniel Dennett), which is why so many memeplexes, particularly
> religious, political, racial, and gender biases and prejudices, have
> evolved subcomponents which influence parents to infect their kids
> before resistance can set in.
> >
> > I agree that memetic evolution is Lamarckian, because environmental
> > changes are passed on by imitation. In Dawinian evolution the germ
> > line is protected from the environment (except for cosmic rays and
> > such) in a way that is not the case with memes.
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Bill
> >
> > ===============================================================
> > 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
>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr Able Lawrence MD
Senior Resident
Clinical Immunology
SGPGIMS, Lucknow
able@sgpgi.ac.in
Ph +91 98390 70247
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
===============================================================
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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