Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id FAA18475 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Wed, 23 Jan 2002 05:55:48 GMT Message-ID: <000701c1a3da$0c122bc0$6621aace@oemcomputer> From: "PHILIP JONKERS" <philipjonkers@prodigy.net> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020121220246.03537ca0@pop.cogeco.ca> Subject: Re: The necessity of mental memes Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 21:49:02 -0900 Organization: Prodigy Internet Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Keith:
>"Replicating ideas" are
> always changing in the minds of those they infect, and they can mutate
> (sometimes a lot) with every new person they infect. It is hard to predict
> exactly what behavior a particular meme will be inducing next week,
because
> you never know how the meme may interact with other memes, or mutate.
The dynamics of memes in brains may be capricious indeed, and I think that's
the
reason why media which guarantee higher longevity such as written language
helped prevent the rate of meme variation to reach counter-productive
levels.
After all, to make evulution possible memes should retain at least some of
their substance over time and upon transmission.
Philip.
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