Date: Wed, 01 Sep 1999 17:10:43 +0200
From: "Gatherer, D. (Derek)" <D.Gatherer@organon.nhe.akzonobel.nl>
Subject: RE: Dawkins' Mutation Test for Replicators
To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
Chris:
Go to a day care center and you will hear
expressions such "this tastes red!".
Derek:
Pardon my skepticism, but isn't that just because the kiddies haven't quite
grasped the meaning of 'red'? eg. they may think that all red apples taste
red, so anything tasting of apples tastes red.
Chris:
Adults encourage the differentiation
(and so to some degree reduce creativity in doing so making it more
adaptive, within context, than innovative, a novel context).
Derek:
No, adults just teach the correct meaning of red, that's all.
Chris:
Add to Stein and Merideth the interdigitations we see in frontal lobe areas
(that develop after we are born) and we seem to be witnessing a process of
moving from a genetically 'pure' whole that goes through differentiation of
parts to then be re-integrated through education; we refine the 'pure'
genetic elements with nurture experience. The neuron culling process at
about age 10-12 seems to be a function of this in that once you have the
early experiences so 'customisation' takes place to make things more
efficient.
Derek:
Genetic 'purity' or otherwise is irrelevant to this. What we see is brain
development, that's all.
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