Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id MAA29673 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk); Thu, 4 Oct 2001 12:28:02 +0100 Subject: RE: What/who selects memes? Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 07:22:55 -0400 x-sender: wsmith1@camail2.harvard.edu x-mailer: Claris Emailer 2.0v3, Claritas Est Veritas From: "Wade T.Smith" <wade_smith@harvard.edu> To: "Memetics Discussion List" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Message-ID: <20011004112253.AAA4625@camailp.harvard.edu@[205.240.180.149]> Sender: fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Hi Richard Brodie -
>>>The same way you identify software in a CPU.
>
>>what way is that?
>
>I don't know of any way to do it for certain. Does that mean software
>doesn't exist?
That's an amazingly apologist's answer. It's also a logical fallacy. I'm
sure I could find out which actual fallacy it is, but, well....
In fact, there are a number of utilities which will report on what
processes are running at a particular point of time in a computer,
although, yeah, there's sort of uncertainty problem there too, measuring
things like that. There are a number of utilities as well that will
search the hard drive for resident programs- they don't have to be
running, just stored.
Processes include the BIOS and present operating system, fonts and
peripheral connections, languages and protocols, etc. Let's face it,
computers are tools, not active living things. We know what's in there.
We made 'em. We programmed 'em.
However, when we do speak about fundamentally made and programmed humans,
we can, to a great degree, identify the programs and processes running in
that mind due to the lack of freedom of intellectual environment. It's a
limited suite of inter-related cultural programs, sometimes at complete
odds with wider reality.
Put that kind of glitch into the world at large, and big crashes happen.
- Wade
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