Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id TAA17021 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 22 Jan 2002 19:48:36 GMT Message-ID: <000901c1a37e$27a4c0c0$4f01bed4@default> From: "Kenneth Van Oost" <Kenneth.Van.Oost@village.uunet.be> To: <kennethvanoost@myrealbox.com> References: <AA-39D942971CFAD0DFFA946EB9C5E9F270-ZZ@homebase1.prodigy.net> Subject: Re: sex and the single meme Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 20:50:29 +0100 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
----- Original Message -----
From: Philip Jonkers <PHILIPJONKERS@prodigy.net>
> Sex in biological animals provides a faster way to
> adapt to extremely competetive and changing
> environments. Organisms who don't use sex to adapt were
> mostly outcompeted and supplanted by those who did.
> The function of sex is reflected by increasing the
> variation rate in the evolutionary algorithm.
Hi Philip,
<< Of course you are right, but the thing is, that, if sex exists in
memetics
it could be something completely different than sex as seen in the biolo-
gical sense of the term.
My point is, if a mutation whereby memes should be able to reproduce
asexual within a population should occur whereby no ' males ' would be
produced and whereby the mutant ' females ' should have the same
survivalchances and the same fertility as their no- mutant sisters and they
should avoy to re- produce 50 % ' male ', in each generation their amount
should increase tremendously.
It would explain, in a sense, the speed by which memetic evolution de-
velops, no !?
On the other hand, to stimulate their suvivalchances, in a way sex would
be needed, but adultery far more !!
Sex, seen in the biological sense from a human perspective is monogamous.
We males, doing it with everybody female to get our genes across, females
are more choosy. After all, time and resources must be best spent.
But does this apply to memes !? IMO, it doesn 't !
The speed of the memetic evolution exceeds any given ' natural ' biological
sexual process.
If a bird got 8 young from 8 different fathers, we can pre- suppose that
atleast 1 will survive when a dramatical change in the environment should
occur. Here is it the female who want her genes to get across.
In memetics it seems that all the variations survive in one point of the
other....
I agree that sex is needed to increase the variation rate, but in memetics
we get in trouble when the speed of things is concerned.
There is no biological process fast enough to explain the speed by which
the memetic evolution occurs.
IMO, if we count in asexuality, or some ' cloning '- process we can.
> Anyway, better and faster ways to adapt automatically
> get selected in an evolutionary process
> in general.
<< Again, yes, but not in memetics !
The velocity- factor of the present evolution in memetics can 't be ex-
plained. The rate by which people get infected can be measured, but
can 't be explained ' how ' !
And maybe, the better and faster way in the evolutionary process of
memetics is not sex, but asexuality....
And if this ends up, one thing is than vey clear, memes have no gender....
Regards,
Kenneth
===============================================================
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 Jan 22 2002 - 19:56:26 GMT