Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 09:52:03 +0000
From: Bruce Edmonds <b.edmonds@mmu.ac.uk>
To: jom-emit-ann@mmu.ac.uk
Subject: New JOM-EMIT Paper: Different Types of Memes: Recipemes, Selectemes and Explanemes by John Langrish
Different Types of Memes: Recipemes, Selectemes and Explanemes.
by John Z. Langrish
Abstract
This paper attempts to provide three directions for advancing
Dawkins' original description of memes as `units' of cultural
transmission'. These three directions are
1. There could be different types of memes.
2. Memes are not `units'.
3. The transmission of memes might not be restricted to
something called `culture'.
A biological perspective allows for different types of memes
with different transmission mechanisms.The disease type
mechanism (epidemiology) has been over emphasised and is
only one such mechanism.Three types of memes are suggested
and given the names recipemes, selectemes and explanemes.
Their use is illustrated by the evolution of technology in which
black box systems are used to do things requiring recipemes -
ideas about how to do it - and selectemes - ideas about what
is a desirable output. Explanemes are ideas about the inside of
the `box'.
Key words: memes, evolution, culture, technology, biology.
Accessible at URL:
http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit/1999/vol3/langrish_jz.html