Date: Mon, 04 Oct 1999 17:30:00 -0400
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
From: "Mark M. Mills" <mmills@htcomp.net>
Subject: Re: implied or inferred memes
In-Reply-To: <199910042004.QAA17153@smtp10.atl.mindspring.net>
Bill,
At 04:12 PM 10/4/99 -0400, you wrote:
>However, what if there are 37+ different ways (L-memes) to produce the
>G-meme? In that case, the imitation will be successful if anyone of them
>is created. Does it make sense to call anyone of them a meme, or the set
>as a whole a meme? It's the G-meme that's replicated, not the mental
>whatever that subserves it.
Keep in mind, an L-meme is analogous to a gene. It is the genotype to
behavior (phenotype). The L-meme is probably best described as a series of
binary electrochemical gates in the synapses (see Koch's Biophysics of
Computation for more detail on the gates). A gene is a base four sequence,
an L-meme binary.
There are no explicit DNA sequence expressions that can be mechanistically
tied to macroscopic traits. At best, we can say 'chunks' of DNA are highly
correlated to phenotypic trait (blue eyes, etc). The same can be said for
L-memes, a 'chunk' of brain tissue can be correlated to phenotypic behavior
(Broca's area is correlated to speech, knee jerk reflexes are correlated to
nerves localized in the leg).
None of this helps very much with mapping the distribution of Jazz skills,
but it represents a start.
There are probably millions of ways for L-memes to produce G-memes, just as
there is many combinations of cells capable of producing blue eyes from
DNA. Chromosome are highly redundant, offering many locations for protein
synthesis to take place.
Does it make sense to call any one sequence of binary gates an L-meme?
Just as we have ways of finding isomorphism of 'genes' in millions of
unique DNA sets, there are probably ways for finding isomorphism in
L-memes. At a fundamental level, nerve cells work alike. We are retarded
by our test equipment. It is just a matter of time before limited
isomorphism of neural configuration can be correlated to behaviors. Again,
I am not holding my breath for this to assist anyone interested in the
replication of Jazz skills.
>It's the G-meme that's replicated, not the mental
>whatever that subserves it.
I am not going to argue against G-meme replication. It just doesn't make
much difference with regard to the study of L-memes. L-meme replication is
probably ontogenetic and only marginally influenced by environmental
effects when compared to the influence of internal processes.
Developmentally, the L-meme is a neurological requirement for G-memes to
emerge. L-memes exist in any neural system with binary gates at the synapse
level. This means almost all animal life. G-memes are fairly rare outside
the human domain. I suspect we will discover that L-meme structure
constrains the range of G-meme form, but that's certainly debatable. As it
stands, L-memes simply provide a natural evolutionary foundation for
G-memes.
L-memes and G-memes really don't get in each other's way. The binary gates
exist. We can find ways to sequence reading them. Study of these gate
sequences is moving ahead quickly and will probably become fairly important
as millions are invested in molecular computing. Just as genetic structure
has gone from unimaginable to easily read in 40 years, it is likely that
L-memes will be much easier to read in 40 years.
What's the problem? Why can't G-memes coexist with L-memes?
Mark
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