Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id BAA01381 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Wed, 30 Jan 2002 01:43:40 GMT Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 17:37:50 -0800 Message-Id: <200201300137.g0U1bok09651@mail20.bigmailbox.com> Content-Type: text/plain Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: binary X-Mailer: MIME-tools 4.104 (Entity 4.116) X-Originating-Ip: [65.80.162.123] From: "Joe Dees" <joedees@addall.com> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: Re: neccesity of mental memes Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk('binary' encoding is not supported, stored as-is)
> "Steve Drew" <srdrew_1@hotmail.com> memetics@mmu.ac.uk Re: neccesity of mental memesDate: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 10:27:47 +0000
>Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>
><Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 00:30:17 -0800
>From: "Joe Dees" <joedees@addall.com>
>Subject: Re: neccesity of mental memes
>
>A universal meansurement of length could be, say, multiples of an
>primary particle's (say a proton's, neutron's or electron's) radius. It
>would certainly not be either anthropomorphic, arbitrary (since it is a
>building block of the universe) or changeable>
>
>It would be universal but it would still be arbitray in the sense that we
>assign the value in the first place. I could say that the radius of a proton
>is 'one metre' (say) and base every other measurement on that. How is that
>any different to choosing a standard metal rod as the unit.
>
Because we are using a natural, uniform and ubiquitous component of the universe as our stick, not something arbitrary or rooted in anthropomorphism. It does not matter what you call the unit of measurement (since language is itself arbitrary and by mutual convention), so long as your peers understand it, and it fulfills the above requirements. We are not assigning a value to the protom-radius, we are naming it; it will remain the same length whatever we call it, and that takes the arbitrariness out of the referent, even though linguistic signs themselves are, for the most part (excluding, say, onomatopoeic words), irretrieveably arbirary.
>
>Steve
>
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________
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>This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
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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
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