From: "James McComb" <jamesmccomb@hotmail.com>
To: "Memetics Discussion List" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: i-memes and m-memes
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 01:59:50 +1000
Robin Faichney:
I'd object to this on the same basis I'm not happy with the L/G terminology:
it implies there are two different kinds of memes, when
there is, as I see it, just one kind (at this level of generalisation), in
different encodings. So I'd prefer i-encoding and m-encoding.
James McComb:
i-encoding is a bit ambiguous. Is it a noun or a verb? It could be
interpreted as a PROCESS, whereas we want the i/m distinction to distinguish
between types of THING. How about one meme, but with an i-form and and an
m-form?
The i/m distinction is vital because the copying process involved in m->m
replication is mechanical and unproblematic, whereas that involved in i->m
and m->i is hermeneutical and not yet understood.
James McComb - jamesmccomb@hotmail.com
Fidelity! Fecundity! Longevity!
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