20 JUN 2017 by ideonexus
The Sense of Wonder is More Viral Than Anger
In many cases, these flare-ups triggered a chain reaction of anger, with User A influencing Users B and C, and outward in a widening circle of hostility, until it seemed all of Sina Weibo was burning. The users, according to the study’s authors, passed along these messages not only to “express their anger” but to instill a similar sense of outrage among other members of their online community on Sina Weibo—one of the only venues where the Chinese can circumvent government restrictions... 1 
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notes24 JAN 2015 by ideonexus
Tyranny of the Gene Tempered by Junk DNA
The analogies between the genetic evolution of biological species and the cultural evolution of human societies have been brilliantly explored by Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene. The book is mainly concerned with biological evolution; the cultural analogies are only pursued in the last chapter. Dawkins's main theme is the tyranny which the rigid demands of the replication apparatus have imposed upon all biological species throughout evolutionary history. Every species is the pris... 1 notes
notes29 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. ... 1 notes
notesOur 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.
29 NOV 2013 by ideonexus
When Memes and Genes Conflict
Memes and genes may often reinforce each other, but they sometimes
come into opposition. For example, the habit of celibacy is presumably
not inherited genetically. A gene for celibacy is doomed to failure in the
gene pool, except under very special circumstances such as we find in
the social insects. But still, a meme for celibacy can be successful in the
meme pool. For example, suppose the success of a meme depends
critically on how much time people spend in actively transmitting it to
othe... 1 notes
notesMemes can override genes, which means a meme like 'celibacy' can prevent the genes from reproducing.
16 MAY 2012 by ideonexus
Ideas and Principles are Independent of People
In truth, ideas and principles are independent of men; the application of them and their illustration is man's duty and merit. The time will come when the author of a view shall be set aside, and the view only taken cognizance of. This will be the millennium of Science. 1 notes
notesScience will attain a new level of prosperity if we put men aside and focus on the ideas.
29 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Three Categories for Memes
What kinds of memes are there? I've divided memes into three classes: distinctions, knives used to slice up reality; strategies, beliefs about which causes will produce which effects; and associations, attitudes about everything in life. Each class of meme works to program you in a different way.
[...]
Distinction-memes
The universe is full of stuff. However, anything we say about that stuff is purely a concept-a set of memes-invented by human beings. All concepts are composed of memes. Fo... 1 notes
notesDistinction, Strategy, and Association
13 MAR 2011 by ideonexus
Money is Fiction
Ira Glass: For money, afterall, long ago, we used to use gold, and if you wanted to buy something, you had to carry around these heavy, shiny pieces of metal. Then we decided, no, let's just leave the gold in a bank. Instead of the gold, we're going to carry around these pieces of paper, and the paper on them says, "Yes, there's gold. You can take this paper money to a bank, you can swap it for gold." Maybe you've seen old dollars that say on them "Promise to pay the bearer so many dollars in...
1 Today there is not gold backing money, nor even bills for much of the money possessed by the people of the United States. It's just and idea we agree upon.
08 FEB 2011 by ideonexus
Distinguishing the Meme Content from the Meme's Effect on...
[Cloak] defined the i-culture as the instructions in people's heads, and the m-culture as the features of people's behaviour, their technology and social organization. he explicitly likened his i-culture to the genotype and m-culture to the phenotype... in The Extended Phenotype [Dawkins] says 'Unfortunately, unlike Cloak... I was insufficiently clear about the distinction between the meme itself, as replicator, on the one hand, and its "phenotypic effects" or "meme products" on the other' (D... 1 notes
notesA survey of different scientists exploring varying metaphors to express the difference between the meme as an idea and the manifestation of the meme in society.
23 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
Memes and Genes in Conflict in Modern Child-Rearing
Let us suppose that women who have many chidren are far too busy to have much social life, and spend most of their time with their partners and family. The few other people they do see are likely to be other mothers with young children who already share at least some of their child-rearing memes. The more children they have the mor eyears they will spend this way. They will, therefore, have little time for spreading their own memes, including the ones concerned with family values and the ple...Women who have lots of children have less memetic influence, while women who are career-oriented have more memetic influence, but less genetic.
09 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
Not All Thoughts are Memes
Where do new memes come from? They come about through variation and combination of old ones - either inside one person's mind, or when memes are passed from person to person. So, for example, the poodle story is concocted out of language that people already know and ideas they already have, put together in new ways. They then remember it and pass it on, and variations occur in the process. And the same is true of inventions, songs, works of art, and scientific theories. The human mind is a r... 1 notes
notesThoughts we keep to ourselves are not memes, because they are not passed along to others. New memes come ideas that we put together in new ways.
The "poodle story" referred to in this meme is the urban legend of a woman who microwaved her dog to dry it after a bath.
