Re: virus: Definition of meme (from alt.memetics)

Lior Golgher (efraim_g@netvision.net.il)
Fri, 03 Jan 1997 12:17:17 -0800


Wade T.Smith wrote:

I actually woke up this morning with a kernel of a scintilla of an idea
about what a meme may actually be, all to do with the actual
electro-chemical formation of memory, a new and recently augmented
neurobiochemical study, and fascinating.

I am a long way from even finding a nail to hit a head, but I think that
lodging memes specifically within a brain, and more specifically within
the memory process of a brain, and more specifically within the
conscious
memory functions, is the way to go.

----
You're talking about the physical imprint of memes - is that where
you're heading?
We ususally use memetics to analyze social processes of
thought-evolution <urgh, shitty phrasing>. The focus is on the ways a
meme influence on our thought.
Therefore any definition of meme should focus on its deeds and effects
rather than its unclear electro-chemical formation in the brain. That's
two points for the current VirLex definition, and none for your
suggestion.

Lior.