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Memeplex
Much of the study of memes focuses on groups of memes called meme complexes, or memeplexes. Like the gene complexes found in biology, memeplexes are groups of memes that are often found present in the same individual. Applying the theory of Universal Darwinism, memeplexes exist because memes copy themselves more successfully when they are "teamed up". Examples include: ; Belief Systems and Ideologies::Religions, philosophies, political alignments, worldviews. ; Organizations and Groups::Churches, businesses, political parties, clubs. ; Behavioral Patterns::Musical practices, ceremonies, marriages, festivities, hunting techniques, sports. Compared to inherited gene complexes, memeplexes have comparatively less pressure to benefit the individuals expressing them in order to replicate. Because memes and memeplexes replicate virally (i.e., by horizontal transmission), they are not entirely dependent on the success of their hosts in order to succeed. Memes and memeplexes do not have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memetics
Memetics is a study of information and culture. While memetics originated as an analogy with Darwinian evolution, digital communication, media, and sociology scholars have also adopted the term "memetics" to describe an established empirical study and theory described as Internet Memetics. Proponents of memetics, as evolutionary culture, describe it as an approach of cultural information transfer. Those arguing for the Darwinian theoretical account tend to begin from theoretical arguments of existing evolutionary models. Those arguing for Internet Memetics, by contrast, tend to avoid reduction to Darwinian evolutionary accounts. Instead some of these suggest distinct evolutionary approaches. Memetics describes how ideas or cultural information can propagate, but doesn't necessarily imply a meme's concept is factual.Kantorovich, Aharon (2014An Evolutionary View of Science: Imitation and Memetics./ref> Critics contend the theory is "untested, unsupported or incorrect".James W. Polic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meme
A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols, or practices, that can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena with a mimicked theme. Supporters of the concept regard memes as cultural analogues to genes in that they self-replicate, mutate, and respond to selective pressures. In popular language, a meme may refer to an Internet meme, typically an image, that is remixed, copied, and circulated in a shared cultural experience online. Proponents theorize that memes are a viral phenomenon that may evolve by natural selection in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution. Memes do this through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance, each of which influences a meme's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Meme Machine
''The Meme Machine'' is a popular science book by Susan Blackmore on the subject of memes. Blackmore attempts to constitute memetics as a science by discussing its empirical and analytic potential, as well as some important problems with memetics. The first half of the book tries to create greater clarity about the definition of the meme as she sees it. The last half of the book consists of a number of possible memetic explanations for such different problems as the origin of language, the origin of the human brain, sexual phenomena, the Internet and the notion of the self. These explanations, in her view, give simpler and clearer explanations than trying to create genetic explanations in these fields. The idea of memes, and the word itself, were originally speculated by Richard Dawkins in his book ''The Selfish Gene'' although similar, or analogous, concepts had been in currency for a while before its publishing. Richard Dawkins wrote a foreword to ''The Meme Machine''. In th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An atheist, he is well known for his criticism of creationism and intelligent design. Dawkins first came to prominence with his 1976 book ''The Selfish Gene'', which popularised the gene-centred view of evolution and introduced the term '' meme''. With his book ''The Extended Phenotype'' (1982), he introduced into evolutionary biology the influential concept that the phenotypic effects of a gene are not necessarily limited to an organism's body, but can stretch far into the environment, for example, when a beaver builds a dam. His 2004 The Ancestor's Tale set out to make understanding evolution simple for the general public, by tracing common ancestors back from humans to the origins of life. Over time, numerous religious people challenged th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darwin's Dangerous Idea
''Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life'' is a 1995 book by the philosopher Daniel Dennett, in which the author looks at some of the repercussions of Darwinian theory. The crux of the argument is that, whether or not Darwin's theories are overturned, there is no going back from the dangerous idea that design (purpose or what something is for) might not need a designer. Dennett makes this case on the basis that natural selection is a blind process, which is nevertheless sufficiently powerful to explain the evolution of life. Darwin's discovery was that the generation of life worked algorithmically, that processes behind it work in such a way that given these processes the results that they tend toward must be so. Dennett says, for example, that by claiming that minds cannot be reduced to purely algorithmic processes, many of his eminent contemporaries are claiming that miracles can occur. These assertions have generated a great deal of debate and discussion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Selfish Gene
''The Selfish Gene'' is a 1976 book on evolution by the ethologist Richard Dawkins, in which the author builds upon the principal theory of George C. Williams's ''Adaptation and Natural Selection'' (1966). Dawkins uses the term "selfish gene" as a way of expressing the gene-centred view of evolution (as opposed to the views focused on the organism and the group), popularising ideas developed during the 1960s by W. D. Hamilton and others. From the gene-centred view, it follows that the more two individuals are genetically related, the more sense (at the level of the genes) it makes for them to behave cooperatively with each other. A lineage is expected to evolve to maximise its inclusive fitness—the number of copies of its genes passed on globally (rather than by a particular individual). As a result, populations will tend towards an evolutionarily stable strategy. The book also introduces the term '' meme'' for a unit of human cultural evolution analogous to the gene, sugg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metameme
In the field of memetics, a metameme (or meta-meme) is defined as a meme about a meme. A metaphor or the idea of memetic engineering are, thus, metamemes. The concept of memes has been referred to as "The Metameme".Glenn GrantA Memetic Lexicon/ref> Some other metamemes of interest include the meme tolerance and memeplexes. Initial definitions of meta memes and the lingo surrounding the phenomenon have seen a recent overhaul, as a new perspective is beginning to emerge due to heightened interest from researchers and companies alike. Measuring social evolution Metamemes may be used to measure the evolution of a given society. It has been proposed that the degree of consciousness a society has about the very memes that form it is correlated with how evolved that society is. The difficulties associated with measuring the "metamemetic content" of a given society, however, render that proposition impractical. This can be viewed (to some extent) as a memetic approach to the American ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Susan Blackmore
Susan Jane Blackmore (born 29 July 1951) is a British writer, lecturer, sceptic, broadcaster, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Plymouth. Her fields of research include memetics, parapsychology, consciousness, and she is best known for her book ''The Meme Machine''. She has written or contributed to over 40 books and 60 scholarly articles and is a contributor to ''The Guardian'' newspaper. Career In 1973, Susan Blackmore graduated from St Hilda's College, Oxford, with a BA (Hons) degree in psychology and physiology. She received an MSc in environmental psychology in 1974 from the University of Surrey. In 1980, she earned a PhD in parapsychology from the same university; her doctoral thesis was entitled "Extrasensory Perception as a Cognitive Process." In the 1980s, Blackmore conducted psychokinesis experiments to see if her baby daughter, Emily, could influence a random number generator. The experiments were mentioned in the book to accompany the TV series '' Arthur C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel C
The Wake are a British post-punk, synth-pop and later indie pop band, formed in Glasgow in 1981 by Gerard "Caesar" McInulty (formerly of Altered Images), Steven Allen (drums) and Joe Donnelly (bass), the latter replaced by Bobby Gillespie. Steven's sister Carolyn Allen also joined on keyboards, and remained in the band thereafter. Gillespie left the band in 1983, replaced by Martin Cunning and then by Alexander 'Mac' Macpherson. History The Wake released their first single on their own Scan 45 label, coupling together "On Our Honeymoon" and "Give Up". This single eventually caught the attention of New Order (band), New Order manager Rob Gretton, who helped the band sign to Factory Records in 1982 and record an LP (''Harmony (The Wake album), Harmony'') at Strawberry Studios in Stockport. This was followed by a number of singles on Factory and its Belgian sister label Factory Benelux. In 1983, The Wake toured with New Order (band), New Order, and thus received critical attention ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gene Complex
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity and the molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protein-coding genes and noncoding genes. During gene expression, the DNA is first copied into RNA. The RNA can be directly functional or be the intermediate template for a protein that performs a function. The transmission of genes to an organism's offspring is the basis of the inheritance of phenotypic traits. These genes make up different DNA sequences called genotypes. Genotypes along with environmental and developmental factors determine what the phenotypes will be. Most biological traits are under the influence of polygenes (many different genes) as well as gene– ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geocentric Model
In astronomy, the geocentric model (also known as geocentrism, often exemplified specifically by the Ptolemaic system) is a superseded description of the Universe with Earth at the center. Under most geocentric models, the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets all orbit Earth. The geocentric model was the predominant description of the cosmos in many European ancient civilizations, such as those of Aristotle in Classical Greece and Ptolemy in Roman Egypt. Two observations supported the idea that Earth was the center of the Universe: * First, from anywhere on Earth, the Sun appears to revolve around Earth once per day. While the Moon and the planets have their own motions, they also appear to revolve around Earth about once per day. The stars appeared to be fixed on a celestial sphere rotating once each day about an axis through the geographic poles of Earth. * Second, Earth seems to be unmoving from the perspective of an earthbound observer; it feels solid, stable, and stationary. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transmission (medicine)
In medicine, public health, and biology, transmission is the passing of a pathogen causing communicable disease from an infected host individual or group to a particular individual or group, regardless of whether the other individual was previously infected. The term strictly refers to the transmission of microorganisms directly from one individual to another by one or more of the following means: * airborne transmission – very small dry and wet particles that stay in the air for long periods of time allowing airborne contamination even after the departure of the host. Particle size 5 μm. * direct physical contact – touching an infected individual, including sexual contact * indirect physical contact – usually by touching a contaminated surface, including soil (fomite) * fecal–oral transmission – usually from unwashed hands, contaminated food or water sources due to lack of sanitation and hygiene, an important transmission route in pediatrics, veterinary medicine and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
