Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id UAA06906 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Sun, 10 Feb 2002 20:30:43 GMT X-Originating-IP: [194.117.133.84] From: "Steve Drew" <srdrew_1@hotmail.com> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: RE: Words and memes Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2002 20:25:04 +0000 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Message-ID: <F187rOq93dSAj0bRpdQ00006a4b@hotmail.com> X-OriginalArrivalTime: 10 Feb 2002 20:25:04.0539 (UTC) FILETIME=[06090EB0:01C1B271] Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 08:44:52 -0500
From: "Lawrence DeBivort" <debivort@umd5.umd.edu>
Subject: RE: Words and memes
I would like to take a different tack here.
People are not stupid (oh, okay, not totally so). They have the
automatic
capability to assess what is going on around them, including the flow of
language and symbols, and to judge what makes sense or doesn't, and what
is
'useful' to them or not.
We all have hierarchies of values that come into play when we make these
judgments. If an idea floating out there seems to enhance the ability of
the
individual to manifest these values (and especially the more highly held
ones) he or she will adopt it. (I am simplfying here a bit, and leaving
out
other cognitive elements that also influence the adoption of ideas but
serve
mainly as filtering mechanisms that reduce the number of ideas that are
going to be judged. Within these filtering mechanisms we also have the
ability to reshape the idea we are considering, to discard some of its
elements and keep others, or to add to it other elements from other
ideas we
have, thus the mutation of memes within and by the individual.) Ideas
will
only be taken up if the individual, rightly or wrongly, concluded that
it is
useful to do so. Note that this allows for the adoption of ideas under
conditions of group pressure: for those who do it under these
conditions,
conforming to group standards and all that flows from that is the
immediate
value achieved.
Memes cannot destroy or bypass this judgement-making mechanism: to be
adopted they must meet its criteria for adoption. This helps explain why
some memes are taken up by some people and not by others: our
heirarchies of
values differ person to person, as do the levels of certainty that we
require within our judgment-making processes.
Does this model help?
Lawrence
>Keith?:
> > > At the other end of this spectrum, you have memes that spread by
>inducing
> > > people to go out and do glassy eyed recruiting. Memes like
Heaven's
>Gate
> > > or Moonies spread by directly inducing behavior of no value
>to the host
> > > rather than indirectly by being darned useful to the host.
It does indeed. I have tried to say something similar but not as clearly as
you have.
Thanks
Steve
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