Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id WAA03090 (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 22:21:49 +0100 From: "salice" <salice@gmx.net> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2001 23:15:59 +0000 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: RE: What/who selects memes? In-reply-to: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D3102A6D072@inchna.stir.ac.uk> Message-Id: <E15pcMP-00036p-00@dryctnath.mmu.ac.uk> Sender: fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> No, we can't find memes in brains because they aren't in brains.
> Remember the specific point is about memes as replicating entities, and as
> replicating entities memes need to retain their form in transmission.
The brain can store memes because it can store form.
If you read a word and remember it your brain can reconstruct it and
it's form. So memes are stored in brains because the brain can store
form even if the structure in which this form is stored differs
between brains.
> My name is not a meme,
Sure it is.
Vincent Campbell.
There. I replicated it.
> brain selected neither- my parents named me, and the country I grew up in
> determined the language I speak
You can select against your name-meme, like i do here. I post as
Salice though my parents didn't gave me this name. My name-meme can't
spread here because i do not select it to appear here.
And some "Mailing List Cultures" would not allow this!
> OK, now I don't want to be unfair in overusing this easily made
> error, but this is exactly what I mean. I didn't send the 'remembering'
> reference, I think Bill did. There you go- the way you remembered that
> piece of information was different to how it was transmitted, and how I
> remembered it.
Okay you got me here :)
That's an invention of a meme then. The meme, the idea that you
posted the booktitle not Bill. And it was done by my brain without me
being conscious about it, i swear!
> have numerous mechanisms for artifactual memes to transmit (again, language,
> writing, art etc. etc.).
Language, writing and art does not automatically transmit memes.
People have to USE those to transmit memes.
What does 'transmit' mean anyway if no brains are there between which
memes could be transmitted? Between what else should a meme be
transmitted?
> Also, again, not every piece of information is a meme, I think you've
> missed that point entirely, and in the example above, demonstrated the
> point I was making very clearly. I think you'd better read Derek's article
> before presuming to have argued it away with an error.
I'm going to read it but i think my brain is going to select against
his meme/idea.
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