Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id DAA16948 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Wed, 28 Nov 2001 03:49:53 GMT Message-ID: <008301c177bf$308b9f00$3386b2d1@teddace> From: "Dace" <edace@earthlink.net> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <200111252248.fAPMmi006723@mail18.bigmailbox.com> Subject: Re: A Question for Wade Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 19:45:56 -0800 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400 X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4133.2400 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joe Dees"
> > "Wade T.Smith"
> >
> >Hi Scott Chase -
> >
> >>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)
> >
> >All of which and thus forced me to reconstruct my own thinking and remove
> >all farce. The meme is a cultural artifact. Any other usage is erroneous
> >and multiplicative.
> >
> Memes are not things, but meaningful patterns in which matter/energy
is arranged. This is true whether we are talking about the meaningful sound
patterns in which air is arranged to enunciate words, the meaningful
geometrical patterns in which ink or pixels or pencil lead are arranged to
write them, the meaningful action patterns out bodies enact in order to type
or write or speak them, or the meaningful neuron/synapse activation patterns
in which such representations are stored in our brains.
>>>
Airwaves and pixels have no meaning intrinsic to them. It's only insofar as
they're interpreted that they appear to have meaning. The actual location
of meaning is always in the mind of the interpreter. As to patterns of
synaptic transmission, these have meaning only insofar as the brain is the
moment-to-moment materialization of the mind.
Ted
===============================================================
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 : Wed Nov 28 2001 - 03:55:54 GMT