Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id SAA18063 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk); Fri, 28 Sep 2001 18:36:13 +0100 From: "salice" <salice@gmx.net> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2001 19:31:11 +0000 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Re: Thesis: Memes are DNA-Slaves In-reply-to: <1001691910.3bb49b06b3c7d@rugth1.phys.rug.nl> References: <000d01c14795$99018f40$33a0bed4@default> Message-Id: <E15n1VW-0005hM-00@dryctnath.mmu.ac.uk> Sender: fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> Just for completeness' sake: what if memes move house from
> the human brain to a meme-processing medium which can warrant
> higher fecundity, frequency and fidelity. If such a medium
> would emerge, memetic evolution would be faster and more profound
> with this medium. Consequently, evolutionary pressures would
> favor the latter medium. That is, the human brain would be
> outclassed by this better meme-juggling entity.
it's not the question of the medium. the point is, who selects memes?
if a machine would be developed which allowed fast spreading of memes
how should it select which ones should survive and which not? this
machine would need some rule to decide which memes are 'fit'. if this
rule wouldn't affect the machine itself okay. if there would be
another machine which has a rule so that the memes which survive help
the machine to survive or even help the machine to get rid of the
other machine which follows other rules it would win over the other
machine and finally there would be only the type of machine who has
the rule to select memes which help its kind to survive.
now let's assume 1000 different types of meme-handling machines
survived. together they form a set of rules. they create a culture.
in this culture each single machine is allowed to follow his personal
rules but the less accepted a personal rule is in the cultural
rule-set the less he will be allowed to follow this and the harder it
will be for this machine to function and to survive. some machine's
personal rules will be close to the cultural set of rules and they
can perform on their full potential. most won't. if too many machines
can't use a high enough percentage of their rules they will group
together and will try to change the set of rules, so that they can
use their personal rules in this new culture to survive.
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