I am currently working on a book project called The Meme in Psychology where we apply the meme concept to psychology and specifically to the biopsychosocial model. So starting this blog comes naturally. I have always been interested in memes as a new replicator ever since Dawkins' The Selfish Gene has floated the idea, and Blackmore's The Meme Machine has inspired me with a new way of looking at us.
The Holy Meme is about pushing the meme concept towards a science, not just of culture and cultural evolution, but also into psychology and for use in society. If memes are what they claim to be, a good description of cultural evolution, they must also play a significant role in psychology. And real-life application must result, too.
What can I contribute? First of all, I am an all-around-scientist with a PhD in computational theoretical particle physics (computer, modeling and quantitative skills), professional experience in finance, economics and accounting (dealing with complex systems), and literate in neuroscience and genetics with lots of background reading of the Dawkins and Spinkers, Open university courses in biological psychology, and many good debates with neuroscientists. Second, I already have a blog called TheStutteringBrain where I debate issues surrounding stuttering, mostly brain imaging, pharmacology, genetics, and treatment. My specialty is in detecting bad and flawed research, much to the chagrin of some pompous university professors and clinicians.
And, there is no blog on memes! And to be honest, the whole project seems to be slowing down. Not much happened after the conference organized by Robert Aunger, apart from a few not that good books. The Journal of Memetics died a silent death. Also, Sue Blackmore has defected from memes to plunge into her consciousness (with an admittedly brilliant introductory book on consciousness), a Zen book and a new replicator, the teme. And Richard Dawkins never really took up his custodial duty to his brain child.
I am open to suggestions and allow guest blogging.
