29 NOV 2013 by ideonexus
Propagating Genes VS Memes
I have been a bit negative about memes, but they have their cheerful side as well. When we die there are two things we can leave behind us: genes and memes. We were built as gene machines, created to pass on our genes. But that aspect of us will be forgotten in three generations. Your child, even your grandchild, may bear a resemblance to you, perhaps in facial features, in a talent for music, in the colour of her hair. But as each generation passes, the contribution of your genes is halved. ...Our genes will only last in recognizable form for three generations or so, being halved with each generation; our memes, however, have the potential to live far beyond our lifetimes and have greater influence.
01 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
We Have Announced Our Presence to the Stars
There are those who predict a dire catastrophe if we broadcast our presence to another star. The extraterrestrials will come and – eat us, or something equally unpleasant. (Actually, if we are especially tasty, they need only sample one of us, determine what sequence of our amino acids makes us appetizing, and then reconstruct the relevant proteins on their own planet. The high freightage makes us economically, if not gastronomically, unappetizing.) The message aboard Pioneer 10 was critici...Jazz-band radio broadcasts are our first emissaries into space, now nearly 100 light years out.