Meme

The word "meme"pronounced likeword "beam". Simply put,memean idea which spreads. In more specific terms,meme isself-propagating unit cultural evolution, analogous togene (the unitbiological evolution). The term was coined by Richard Dawkinshis controversial book The Selfish Gene. The concept predatescoining ofterm;example, William S. Burroughs' assertion that "Language isvirus". Memes can represent partsideas, languages, tunes, designs, skills, moralesthetic valuesanything else thatcommonly learnedpassed onothers asunit. The studymemescalled memetics.

In casual use,term memesometimes usedmean any pieceinformation passed from one personanother. Thismuch closer toanalogy"language asvirus" thanisDawkins's analogymemes as replicating behaviours.

Tablecontents

1 Overview
2 Examplesmemes
3 Evolutionmemes
4 Biological analogies
5 Memetics
6 Further Reading
7 See Also

Overview

"The keyevery manhis thought. Sturdydefying though he look, he hashelm which he obeys, which isidea after which all his factsclassified. He can only be reformed by showing himnew idea which commands his own." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dawkins observed that cultures can evolvemuchsame way populationsorganisms do, by passing ideas from one generation tonext, somewhich may enhance or detract fromsurvival ofperson holding them, thereby affecting whichthose ideas continuebe passed onfuture generations. For example, early cultures may have had different designsmethodsbuilding tools. The culture withmore effective method may well have prospered while others suffered, leadingits method being adopted byhigher proportion ofpopulation as time passed. Each tool design thus acts somewhat similarly tobiological gene; some populations have itsome don't, andpresence ofdesignfuture generationsdirectly affected bymeme's function.

A key characteristic ofmemethat itpropagated by imitation. Whatever you learn by observing someone else doing itpotentiallymeme. Observingnot limitedseeing (asseeing howtoolmade); you can observe by hearing (a song orstory), smelling (an ingredient forrecipe), touching (a weaponinsure it's strong enough), or by reading. Because memes propagate by imitation from one individualanother,could not exist without brains thatpowerful enoughassesskey aspects ofbehaviorbe imitated (whatcopywhy) as well as its potential benefits. Memes (or behaviors acquiredpropagated by imitation) have been observedjustfew species on Earth, including humans, dolphins andbird that learns howsing by imitating its parents.

Both genesmemes can "live" much longer thanindividual organisms that carry them. A successful gene (such asgenepowerful teeth inpopulationlions) can remain unchanged ingene pooltens/hundredsthousandsyears,even more. A successful meme can propagate itself from one individualanotherafterhas first appeared.

Unlike biological genes whose successdetermined by how good at survivingorganism that carry them is, memes' success depends on more subtle means (such as criticism, persuasion,fashion/peer pressure) that have not yet been widely investigated. A few common tricks that some ofmost successful memes have been "using""propagate" themselves include:

"Find" an issue orprobleminterest which can not be solved (e.g. what, if anything, happens after death)"propose"solution (e.g., you goheaven or hell). The idea can't be proved wrongsure,as suchrelatively safefitfurther propagation.
"Frighten" those who would prefer notpropagate you (e.g. If you do, or do not do this, you will burnhell)"compensate" those who do as you "say" (e.g. Do thisyou will goheaven after you die).
"Ask"individuals who carry yoube kindother people andspendlottime thinkingtalking about you (e.g.,priest doing little else besides tryingspread his religion).

The quotes draw your attention tofact thatmeme does not purposely do or want anything -just gets copied or not.

Examplesmemes

The following statementscrudely stated versionssome common memes:

"Statement Xtrue. Statement X tells us: If you believe X, you will goheaven. If you do not believe X, you will gohell. Therefore, ityour moral dutyconvince everyone oftruthX." (some skeptics believe this explains most organized religion: note that Statement X can be anything, soascontains this hook)
"I amlucky person. Heresome storiesmy luck. If you believegood luck, you can become lucky like me." (and its obverse: see luck).
"You must send this messagefive other people, or something bad will happenyou" (see chain letter)
The conceptmemesitselfmeme.

Evolutionmemes

Evolution requires not only inheritance natural selection, but also mutation,memes clearly have this property as well. Ideas that get passed on may undergo changes that accumulate over time. Folk talesmyths,example,often embellished inretellingmake them more memorable--and therefore more likelybe retold again. More modern examples can be found invarious urban legendshoaxes that circulate onInternet, such asGoodtimes virus warning.

Somethese methodscultural evolution have been called "artificial selection",contrast"natural selection",emphasizefact that human choicesinvolved. Butdistinctionnot always clear: even evolutionnature involves conscious choices,many choices we make may be influenced by our biology.

Biological analogies

In muchsame way thatselfish gene concept can be used aspointview from whichbetter understandreason about biological evolution,meme concept can be usedbetter understand some otherwise puzzling aspectshuman culture (and learned behaviorsother animals as well). However, if "better"not good enoughtest empirically,question will remain whethermeme conceptgood enoughscience. Ismeme idea itself simply embedding itselfculture like other bad ideas?

A controversial applicationthis "selfish meme" parallel isidea that certain collectionsmemes can act as "memetic viruses": collectionsideas that behave like independent life forms,continueget passed on even atexpensetheir hosts simply because theygood at getting passed on. It has been suggested that evangelical religions behave this way; by includingactpassing on their beliefs asmoral virtue, other beliefs ofreligion also get passed along even ifaren't particularly valuable tobeliever.

Others note thatwide prevelancehuman adoptionreligious ideas proves thatmust have some ecological, sexual, ethical or moral value. For example, most religions urge peacecooperation among their followers ("Thou shalt not kill"), which may tendpromotebiological survivalsocial groups that carry these memes. Certainly religious promoters claim such valuefollowing their rules or principles - but howthat relatedwhatfeeldivine?

There istendencymemeticsdisparagereligious meme. Itsurprisingmany memetics advocateslearnmeme-like concepts describedago, whichprevalentSufi teaching. For an introduction tomuwakkals,Eastern memes, read The MusicLife, Pir Hazrat Inayat Khan, Omega Uniform Edition, 2nd edition, 1993, trade paperback: 353 pages, ISBN 093087238X Muwakkalsconsidered separate beings, elementals, that make up human thought.

Memetics

Memetics isformal studymemes. Memetics can currently be regarded as eitherfieldsociology, orprotoscienceits own right.

Memetics applies concepts taken fromtheoryevolution (especially population genetics)human culture. It triesexplain many very controversial subjects, like religionspolitical systems, using mathematical models.

Many thoughtful people wonder ifanalogygeneculture will hold uphowsimilarity would be tested.

Memetics must be distinguished from sociobiology. In sociobiologyevolving entitiesgenes, whilememetics theymemes. Sociobiologyconcerned withbiological basishuman behaviours, while memetics treats humans as products not onlybiological evolution, butcultural evolution also.

Memetic association isdiscovery that memes herd. For example,memebluejeans includes memestrouser flies, riveted clothing, blue dye, cotton clothing, belt loops,double-sewn seams.

Memetic drift isprocessan idea or meme changing as ittransferred from one personanother. Very few memes show strong memetic inertia which ischaracteristic ofmemebe expressed insame way andhavesame impact, regardlesswhich personreceiving or transmittingidea. Memetic drift increases whenmemetransmitted by an awkward wayexpressingidea, whilst memetic intertiastrengthened whenformexpression rhymes or uses other mnemonic devicespreservememory ofmeme priorits transmittal. The article on Murphy's law shows one examplememetic drift.

Muchmemetic terminologycreated by prepending 'mem(e)-'an existing, usually biological, term, or by putting 'mem(e)'place'gen(e)'various terms. Examples include: meme pool, memotype, memetic engineer, meme-complex.