Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id PAA02390 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk); Fri, 5 Oct 2001 15:54:49 +0100 From: "salice" <salice@gmx.net> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2001 16:49:09 +0000 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Re: Thesis: Memes are DNA-Slaves In-reply-to: <1002282951.3bbd9fc7c607e@rugth1.phys.rug.nl> References: <E15p9un-0006yw-00@dryctnath.mmu.ac.uk> Message-Id: <E15pWK0-0004q7-00@dryctnath.mmu.ac.uk> Sender: fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> > The question is, what makes a meme become successful?
> Now that's fairly easy to answer: Blackmore and Dawkins
> identified three criteria to characterize the success of a meme:
> 1. copying-fidelity, memes should resist mutation to high
> extent in order to maintain their character after many
> copies are made of it. NB: fidelity, should not be infinite,
> that is the meme must be open to some small mutability
> potential, if not absence of variation prohibits evolution
> of the meme.
This is not enough. These simple rules don't explain why certain
memes were succesful in history but aren't still.
Or why memes become succesful today. Did the images of the collapsing
WTC-towers became succesful just because they had copying fidelity?
No. They spread so wide because people considered these memes to be
important. People let these memes spread not these made up rules.
If Dawkin or Blackmore have achieved anything with these rules it's
that people MIGHT change their decision on which memes to let survive
and spread.. They don't have enough influence to let this
happen on a large scale tho.
> 2. fecundity, the meme ideally must spread like wild-fire.
> The more copies the merrier.
Yes but what let's it spread and survive?
> 3. longevity, the longer the meme is present in a brain
> the higher the expectation frequency is of copying the meme
> to other brains.
I thought your point was that memes are not in the brain?
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