Re: [asa] The Science = Atheism Meme (evolving society)

Could be.

I figure that on this list anyone may comment on any part of the territory. <G>

The net has some useful information on the use of "meme" at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme

This entry begins:

"The word meme (pronounced /miːm/)[1] is a popular neologism denoting
any learned thought, feeling, or behavior. Examples include thoughts,
ideas, theories, practices, habits, songs, dances and moods."

OK. Decent definition. My recent purchase of a car gps navigation
system probably qualifies. Two years ago I had not even heard of such
a gadget.

"Memes propagate themselves and can move through a "culture" in a
manner similar to the behavior of a virus. "

That's certainly a scientific claim; it can be tested to see how far
the similarity goes. I'm sure there are differences, of course.

"As a unit of cultural evolution, a meme in some ways resembles a gene."

Another scientific claim (a little vague of course).

"Richard Dawkins, in his book The Selfish Gene,[2] recounts how and
why he coined the term meme to describe how one might extend Darwinian
principles to explain the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena."

One may not hold to Dawkins' world views, and even actively dislike
his evangelistic fervor in arguing for them, and may even dislike
Dawkins himself. I fit with the first category, am indifferent to the
second, and am a fan of Dawkins' writings, for he is clear and
interesting. I suspect that if I met him we could become friends.

"Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection
(similarly to Darwinian biological evolution) through the processes of
variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an
individual entity's reproductive success. So with memes, some ideas
will propagate less successfully and become extinct, while others will
survive, spread, and, for better or for worse, mutate. "Memeticists
argue that the memes most beneficial to their hosts will not
necessarily survive; rather, those memes that replicate the most
effectively spread best, which allows for the possibility that
successful memes may prove detrimental to their hosts."

I'm not sure just why some folks get bent out of shape at this. As a
scientific claim, it may or may not be true; certainly it appears very
plausible as an explanatory mechanism for many of the very peculiar
things people (including me) think and do. One may only hope that
reason, logic and morality also play a part in our thoughts and
actions. For some people, memes may be overpowering those factors.
Luckily, most memes are neutral or not in serious conflict with the
other three factors.

Burgy
(who has not yet succumbed to texting and does not even own a cell phone)

On 7/31/08, PvM <pvm.pandas@gmail.com> wrote:
> I think he is upset that scientists are infringing on his 'territory' .
>
> On Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 8:13 AM, j burg <hossradbourne@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 7/30/08, Dehler, Bernie <bernie.dehler@intel.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Burgy and Bernie,
>>>
>>> Wake up and read a bit outside of your home turf. You're quacking like
>>> ducks!
>>>
>> Quack quack! <G>
>>
>> Seriously, I have zero idea why you are upset over this.
>>
>> Word meanings change all the time.
>>
>> "Meme" seems to have a useful place as shorthand for "an idea that
>> catches on across a population."
>>
>> Maybe there is another word which is better. But I (for one) don't know
>> one.
>>
>> Burgy
>>
>> To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
>> "unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.
>>
>

-- 
Burgy
www.burgy.50megs.com
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