Re: virus: Experimental memes. was:Random thoughts & more poor

the great tinkerer (gr8tinkerer@hotmail.com)
Mon, 17 Aug 1998 08:29:54 PDT


>> so what your saying is that information, such as negative numbers, is
a
>> meme?
>
>It must be information that replicates in other minds. If you invented
>negative numbers on your own then took it to the grave with you, it
>would not be a meme, just a potential meme up until the die you died.

im basically trying to figure out where to draw the line between memes
and information. after a little thought i came up with this argument.
it comes down to a fact/opinion sorting. a meme is an idea (true or
not) that is generally someones opinion or belief, but not a fact, that
is transmitted from one mind to another.
example:
you can teach a student about naziism. or
you can teach a student to be a nazi.

teaching the facts about naziism is not sending a meme. it is
information. the ideals and beliefs and opinions of naziism is a meme.
also your opinions on naziism are a meme if you pass them onto someone
else. another example: christianity is a religion (no meme)
christianity is a bad relgion (meme) christianity causes its followers
to act mean (meme) christianity is the only true religion and youll go
to heaven if you believe (meme)

the first statement could not be a meme. the second statement is a fact
with the meme tied in (something our schooling does a lot when they
teach classes specifically history) the third and fourth have no factual
information and are just opinions and if they replicate from one mind to
another they are memes.
comments?
~the great tinkerer

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