Hmmmmm. His work really /should/ be on the recommended reading list.
Although I haven't read "Thought Contagion", I did read his paper
titled "Units, Events and Dynamics in Memetic Evolution" a few days
ago at http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit/1998/vol2/lynch_a.html
While I have a few questions for him regarding some assumptions he
made, the work overall is lucid, logical and relevant. If you think
an exacting treatment of the concept upon which all of CoV is built
is important, you should read it. Read it with an open mind, but not
an empty one.
Dan