I thought we'd agreed that there was disagreement and left it at that;
how foolishly optimistic I be. :)
> Here's my analysis: Alex wants to make the following changes to
> the Virus doctrine:
Actually, I don't want to redefine Viral doctrine; I'm content leading a
tiny group of heretics (Cleese: Splitters!) who hold to a different
standard.
As we've already established, homogenous groups have no internal
motivation toward evolution. Let's keep diversity alive! Altogether
now!
> 1) Redefine memes to mean only "active memes", ie. memes in the mind.
Its actually possible, I'd say, to have `inactive memes' in the mind,
memes not actively directly affecting the behaviour of the organism but
passively being referenced by or referencing other memes.
> 2) Redefine stored memes, memes in transit, and otherwise "inactive memes"
> as meme spoor.
There's a reason I use the word "spoor," see below. I'd never suggest
my usage as the `proper scientific name of the beast', though. Its far
too rough and ready. :)
> etc. Secondly I think "spoor" is very confusing. As far as I know,
> an animal as never been recreated from its tracks or trail. Finally,
> and most importantly, changing the definition now would make everything
> that has been written about memetics up to this point incoherent. Not
> unlike changing the definition of "gene" so that genes cannot be said
> to be transmitted from generation to generation.
No meme has ever been flawlessle recreated from an examination of its
spoor, either. From studying the tracks, droppings and trails of an
animal, a hunter may get a pretty good idea of the kind it is, its
habits, how old it is, if its wounded, and a hundred other things
depending on how well the tracks are laid and the hunter's experience,
/even if he's never see this animal before/. Likewise, memes leave
spoor in language, art, image, scrawl, voice, a hundred thousand tracks
that are left, sometimes deliberately, for others to find and get /an
idea of/ the depositor. They do not get the depositor.
Btw, technically `genes' /aren't/ passed from generation to generation.
At some point the DNA splits and RNA starts doing the copying; at such
point the "genes" are no longer coherent entities, they're read and
interpreted by amino acids to copy, and errors can occur, etc.
> So, on the off chance that my opinion carries any weight in this forum,
> I suggest we keep the "old" definition of meme, at least until we have
> a good reason for changing it. Anyone agree?
In the off chance my opinion carries any weight /anywhere/, I vote I
remain a heretic but that the schism be conveyed whenever it comes up
since it does draw attention to important points. :)
--
Alexander Williams {thantos@alf.dec.com / zander@photobooks.com}
Prefect of the 8,000,000th Terran Overlord Government Experimental
Strike Legion, Primary Transport TOG "Bellatores Inquieti"
======================================================================
You ride in 250 tons of molecularly aligned crystalline titanium
wedded to a ceramic ablative matrix. You carry a 200mm Gauss
cannon, two massive 10-gigawatt lasers, two SMLM fire-and-forget
missiles, a Vulcan IV point defense anti-missile system, and a
deadly assortment of other equally lethal weapons.
Your vehicle is the ultimate product of 4,000 years of armored
warfare.
Your life expectancy is less than two minutes.
-- RENEGADE LEGION:
CENTURION