From: "Chris Lofting" <ddiamond@ozemail.com.au>
To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
Subject: RE: Internal meme? - the what and the where
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 11:40:22 +1000
In-Reply-To: <NCBBJNGKOKNGECHGLDABKEDBCGAA.info@fieldoperative.com>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk [mailto:fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk]On Behalf
> Of John C. 'Buck' Field
> Sent: Thursday, 23 September 1999 5:17
> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> Subject: RE: Internal meme? - the what and the where
>
>
> Would you further agree that an idea can be communicated from one
> brain to another
> brain, sometimes with high fidelity?
>
The use of emotion allows resonance. A communication is in the form of a
pattern that elicits resonance and so a shared meaning. This works between
individuals and between individal and culture and even across cultures.
The degree of meaning depends on education, experience etc but a rough sense
can be transmitted in that at the general level we 'look' for complex
what/where elements.
It is the in-built what/where that allows every member of the species to
make themselves understood to some degree to every other member of the
species regardless of local language.
The in-built what/where allows us to use feedback to enhance the input and
so try to pre-empt elements of the message -- this allows for
miscomunications as well in that we 'see' more than what is there or else
confuse contexts and the feedback takes over to become 'the message'.
Empathy/sympathy reflect strong resonance where the received message is
structured enough such that we experience pretty closely what the message
sender is experiencing (or wants us to experience). Emotion is the only way
of getting someone to share your 'space'. Modulated in the form of music,
poetry adds to the experience; the more diverse sensory data in the message
the stronger it is experienced/remembered.
An idea is transmitted as a sequence of complex what/where distinctions,
which can include a 'holistic' form in that a single sound/vision etc can
elicit a complex resonance (especially to the more experienced who pickup
harmonics within the message that set off a flood of associations that can
take-over. Pushing peoples 'buttons' can achieve this where the response far
outweighs the stimulus.)
The use of emotions allows for superpositions where multiple meanings can
share the same 'space', the wave metaphor is the most appropriate form for
describing emotions since superpositions are a natural property.
Chris.
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