Re: The necessity of mental memes

From: Wade T. Smith (wade_smith@harvard.edu)
Date: Fri Jan 18 2002 - 17:31:06 GMT

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Subject: Re: The necessity of mental memes
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 12:31:06 -0500
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From: "Wade T. Smith" <wade_smith@harvard.edu>
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    Hi Joe Dees -

    >what no one has been able to explain to me is how, in the absence of a
    >mental storage and percepttion/action translation pathway between the
    >perception of another's actions and the replication of those actions by
    >oneself, how the actions of one could ever become, by apprehension,
    >learning and imitation, the actions of another.

    In other words, what the hell happens inside the brain?

    What part might memory play upon actions?

    In what way might the memory of a thing be guaranteed by the quality of
    the thing itself, and by the quality and attention of the perception?

    Good questions.

    Last I knew, they're still working on it.

    But, how did you learn to waltz?

    Being shown is not enough.

    Even following the paths of the feet on one of those step guides is not
    enough, well, it wasn't enough for me.

    I had to be shown, guided, and then I had to _discover myself doing it_,
    physically.

    Same with a bicycle. I had to be shown, guided, picked up a few times,
    and then I to _discover myself doing it_, physically.

    In other words, the behavior itself was a requirement of the learning
    process.

    And, I really don't think there is _any_ situation where that is not true.

    So, how does a meme just sit inside? (How does one ride a bicycle between
    one's ears?)

    That's what I want to know.

    - Wade

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