Re: virus: memes to study

Lena Rotenberg (lrr@netkonnect.net)
Fri, 06 Mar 1998 23:24:18 -0500


Paul Prestopnik wrote,

>Well, I didn't read _Diffusions of Innovations_, so I can't answer
>specifically, but a meme would better represent the idea of a technology,
rather
>than the physical technology itself.

Yup. Actually, the fortune cookie's unaided-by-ads diffusion was exactly
what reminded me of Rogers' book. It's an interesting book to read (and
is considered a classic and is often quoted), and I recommend it. "Memes"
also diffuse through populations; the difference is that Rogers didn't go
into the actual structure of successful ideas -- which is I presume what
we're purporting to do in memetics -- and chose instead to mathematically
describe the diffusion process ("the S-shaped curve") and explain it in
terms of a model. I think it has a bearing to memetics.

lena

--
Lena Rotenberg
lrr@netkonnect.net