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Topic: Meme vs Idea (Read 1132 times) |
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Pabreetzio
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Re:Meme vs Idea
« Reply #1 on: 2005-05-11 01:30:46 » |
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I think that ideas are all essentially qualified to be memes, so the distinction doesnt matter so much, however meme can also include things that idea doesnt, such as a peice of chain mail. the chain letter is a meme because its being transmitted, but its not really an idea. Another example straight from [/i]The Selfish Gene[i] is song. Songs are passed between birds, and can even have mutations, but I wouldnt really call bird songs 'ideas.'
hope that explaination is helpful.
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theonlygolux
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Re:Meme vs Idea
« Reply #3 on: 2006-04-29 14:11:18 » |
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I don't think there is a difference between memes that are passed on in the same form and those that are not - but I think your distinction is somewhat iffy -
A meme which is passed on in the same form each generation (A-A-A-A-A) still has the potential to be passed on in a different form. Jokes may tend to be passed on through verbalisation, but that does not mean that they cannot be passed on once written down.
Similarly, a design-technological realisation- design sequence may be passed on using blueprints, or by using reverse engineering to analyse the design.
Also - on a slightly different note, does not Dawkins say in "The Extended Phenotype" that things such as birdsong can be considered to be passed on genetically in an extended manner - rather than memetically.
I may be way off base, as it is a long time since I read the book, but I am sure that it is one of the examples he talks about as an extended phenotype.
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