Re: virus: Memetic Tests: experimental memetics

bolin aaron ulysses (z967662@rice.farm.niu.edu)
Tue, 25 Mar 1997 18:39:58 -0600 (CST)


On Tue, 25 Mar 1997, Tadeusz Niwinski wrote:

>
> I agree that memes exist but I am not aware of any scientific tests. Some
> people claim to be Memetic Engineers, some write amusing books about what
> memes can do, but I would love to hear about some *empirical results*.

I am currently formulating my thesis which will be on experimental
memetics. The idea I will explore is if you create the right environment
will the appropriate memes evolve and propigate. Without including too
much detail, I'll create an artificial social environment in the
laboratory with demand characteristics that give rise to very specific
memes. Then I will slowly replace infected individuals with naive
uninfected subjects and observe the process of memetic transmission
using Bales' method of coding communication.

Sound cool? If you would like to contribute to my research send check or
money order to :
Aaron Bolin
Psychology Department
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115

abolin@niu.edu