Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 02:38:44 +0100
Message-Id: <v02110105afc0dcb20c22@[194.125.43.229]>
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
From: rkmoore@iol.ie (Richard K. Moore)
Subject: enabler, receptor memes
Consider the Ayn Randian meme: "If everyone acts selfishly, we'll all be
better off."
This meme, familiar to netizens as a core tenet of libertarian doctrine,
acts as a receptor to additional memes such as "the collective is to be
eshewed", "government is bad", "taxes are theft", etc.
The first meme above not only replicates itself - due to its undulgent
rationalizing of self-gratifying behaviors - but it also acts a receptor,
facilitating internal replication of other memes which might not have made
obvious sense on their own.
Memes, once incorporated, shift the categories of statements which "make
sense" to the host mind.
rkm
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