Message-Id: <199706111010.GAA06386@brickbat9.mindspring.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 06:13:54 -0500
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
From: bbenzon@mindspring.com (Bill Benzon)
Subject: Re: Replicators (and the use of code)
Mark M Mills says:
>We ought to look a the concept 'gene' for a moment. Genes, as
>understood in the popular mind, are not really a valid scientific
>concept any more. The 'bead' model has been discounted for years. A
>segment of DNA code may used in a wide number of processes, linking up
>with different segments of code and producing different proteins. A
>better concept for genes would involve something of a 'holographic' data
>storage system. The code is all discrete, but the data map is
>non-gramatical. The process creates the code unit.
[snip snip]
>
>If we want to use the 'meme' - 'gene' analogy, we are stuck with the same
>subtle problem. Evidence of 'coding' should be easily found. Chunks of
>codes containing a variety of memes should easily be found, but 'memes'
>themselves will be invisible unless we understand all the processes
>involved with code retreival and processing.
>
Hmmm...About 30 years ago Karl Pribram (& others) started exploring the
idea that the brain stores information holographically. At least some of
what they were saying back then has now become more or less mainstream. &
there are folks at Caltech who have been working at the optical bench on
holographic memory for visual images. They've even built a robot that uses
such a memory to guide it's movements around the laboratory.
William L. Benzon 201.217.1010
708 Jersey Ave. Apt. 2A bbenzon@mindspring.com
Jersey City, NJ 07302 USA http://www.newsavanna.com/wlb/
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