Date: Sat, 4 Sep 1999 13:43:18 +0100
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
From: Robin Faichney <robin@faichney.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Context as transformation rules
In-Reply-To: <19990904092512.43529.qmail@hotmail.com>
In message <19990904092512.43529.qmail@hotmail.com>, James McComb
<jamesmccomb@hotmail.com> writes
>_____________Context as transformation rules
>
>Under the influence of Bill Spight, I have figured out a way to represent
>'context' in the i/m logic.
>
>Memes are units of information that undergo transformations from one form to
>another. Understanding memetic information in the light of a particular
>context is really transforming it under a particular transformation rule.
Absolutely. Context is certainly part of the code.
>Symbolically:
>
>m --t-> i
>
>where the arrow labelled t represents a transformation rule.
>
>Suppose we consider a simple case of i-form replication:
>
>i1 --t1-> m1 --t2-> i2
>
>It is obvious that in a case of genuine replication:
>
>i2 = i1 and hence
>t2 = -t1 (i.e. --t2-> = <-t1--)
>
>Robin Faichney called this 'the reciprocity of transformation' conception of
>identity. We might say t1 is a encoding rule and t2 is a decoding rule. But
>what of replications with an odd number of transformations, when the
>encoding-decoding terminology is inappropriate? For example:
>
>i1 --t1-> m1 --t2-> m2 --t3-> i2
>
>Now, in a case of genuine replication:
>
>i2 = i1 and hence
>t3 = -(t1 + t2)
>
>because the total amount of transformation must be zero (otherwise i1
>wouldn't exactly equal i2).
It seems to me that in m1 -> m2 transformations generally m2 = m1, and
t2 is null. This is the case for instance with mechanical printing and
copying processes. But according to information's numerical identity,
if m2 = m1, then m2 *is* m1. So such processes, which I think might
usefully be termed "duplication", fall out of the analysis. Other
cases, though, such as mechanical translation, get a bit more
complicated.
-- Robin Faichney Get Your FREE Information at http://www.conscious-machine.com=============================================================== This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing) see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit