Friday, December 3, 2010

Phenotype of memes

There are many definitions of memes, and it's all very confusing. Some define all thought processes as memes. Others define as memes those behaviours that are copied.

We define memes as communicable-via-language memories. This definition has the advantage that the meme is a physical entity, i.e. the memory stored in the brain. What are thoughts processes or copied behaviours? These are for us the phenotype of memes. Like with genes, where (part of) the body is the phenotype of specific genes. Memories in interaction with the rest of the body also create phenotypes. Thoughts are the products of long-term memory plus outside influences, biofeedback, and the interaction of previous thoughts. Also, behaviours that are copied are determined by memories: Without memory, no recurring behaviour.

We exclude non-communicable memory like motor code or sensory memory. They might spread to other spreads but not in a direct way, and we view them more like proto-memes.

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