Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id WAA16398 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 27 Nov 2001 22:21:55 GMT Subject: how long is that meme in the window? Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 17:16:52 -0500 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: <20011127221650.AAA12057@camailp.harvard.edu@[205.240.180.69]> Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Hi Lawrence DeBivort -
>If he/she does express it, but
>everyone ignores it, it isn't a meme.
Ignorance being bliss, it's a wonder any memes get noticed.
Your definition makes the unread, unclassified, book in the bowels of a
library, say, not a meme.
And, as far as I can see, with the artifact-only-meme (AOM), this is a
very happy and possible state. Not with the artefact-and-mind-meme
(AAMM), though, at least not all the time, although defining not all the
time is at best problematic, since that has to be _not ignored_, unless
what's in a mind can be said to be ignored. And not, by the same token,
with the mind-only-meme (MOM), where not only does it have to be _not
ignored_ _all the time_, but somehow shown to be _acted_ upon.... Then
again, those enjoined to the AAMM and the MOM will say it just goes into
hiding from time to time, not into ignorance.
Not to say that its memeness could not be resurrected- it could. Someone
could find it, and then use it, possibly for its original intent. I think
we had this discussion here, along the lines of sunken artefacts and
cargo cults, where one is ignored, and the other is used in entirely
non-intended ways. I'm sure there are examples of things that have
entered the common usage that were intended for something entirely
different by the designers, with the only thing to quickly enter my head
being Chex cereals, which quickly became, mixed with nuts and pretzels, a
cocktail party snack, so much so and so quickly that Quaker Oats now
markets Chex Mix, ready made, although someone might have a better handle
on the history of this food and tell me that the recipe for Chex Mix that
was on the side of the package was there all along, and it was always
designed to be not just for breakfast. Anyway, something like that
example, if we can find a right one....
Personally, I wish everyone would ignore chain letters and
telesalespeople, but that's my own peccadillo.
- Wade
===============================================================
This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Nov 27 2001 - 22:30:18 GMT