RE: A Question for Wade

From: Lawrence DeBivort (debivort@umd5.umd.edu)
Date: Tue Nov 27 2001 - 21:11:31 GMT

  • Next message: Wade T.Smith: "how long is that meme in the window?" 

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From: "Lawrence DeBivort" <debivort@umd5.umd.edu>
To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
Subject: RE: A Question for Wade
Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 16:11:31 -0500
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    Scott asks:

    > What's so special about the "meme" term? Why can't we just use "idea",
    > "belief", or "concept" to say the same thing? As Ernst Mayr says of the
    > meme:
    >
    > (bq) "It seems to me that this word is nothing but an unnecessary
    > synonym of
    > the term "concept"." (eq)

    Yes, unfortunately, some have fallen into this too-broad definition of meme.
    I prefer to limit 'meme' to refer to those ideas, concepts, beliefs that are
    self-disseminating and self-protecting. If a person has an idea, say, that
    he/she doesn't express, it isn't a meme. If he/she does express it, but
    everyone ignores it, it isn't a meme. Memes have a neuronal basis, home
    base if you will, and can be expressed with varying degrees of accuracy to
    others. If the meme is successful, it finds a neuronal basis in the minds of
    others.

    Looked at in this way, the term 'meme' is significant; it refers to
    something that has no other term (as far as I know).

    Lawrence

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