Memetics

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A Meme = a replicator of cultural information which one mind transmits


Memetics = the proposed science of how memes are transmitted


From the Wikipedia artices at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memetics and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme


Definition

"The term "meme" was used in 1976 by Richard Dawkins to mean a replicator of cultural information which one mind transmits (verbally or by demonstration) to another mind. Dawkins said, Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme)

"Memetics is an approach to evolutionary models of information transfer based on the concept of the meme." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memetics)


Discussion

Internalists vs. Externalists

"The memetics movement split almost immediately into those who wanted to stick to Dawkins' definition of a meme as "a unit of information in the brain", and those who wanted to redefine it as observable cultural artefacts and behaviours. These two schools became known as the "internalists" and the "externalists"." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memetics)


Tipping Point conditions for a successfull viral spreading of memes

"After studying the dynamics of a number of these cases of information spreading across information networks, Gladwell (2000 p. 19-29) identified three characteristics of information viruses that are able to reach the explosive phase, what Gladwell calls ‘The Tipping Point’.


The three rules of the tipping point include ‘The Law of the Few’, ‘The Stickyness Factor’, and ‘The Power of Context’.

1. The law of the few: A tiny percentage of people do the majority of the work. Power law distribution of connectivity in networks dictate, that


2. The stickiness factor: Epidemics tip because of the efforts of a few select carriers. The epidemic spreads exponentially from a relatively small group of initial carriers that have a high number of connections.


3. The power of context: Context is paramount in spreading a virus. Given the right initial context, an epidemic can spread over a number of different contexts with different conditions for connection and diffusion of fads." (http://dotjonas.net/wordpress/?page_id=7)


The four stages of successful meme replication

"Assimilation. The meme is noticed, understood and accepted by someone, who becomes a host of the meme.

Retention. It's embedded in memory. The longer it's stored there, the better.

Expression. The idea can take some form, such as language, text, pictures, or even in unconscious behavior, such as the way someone walks.

Transmission. The host passes the meme on to one or more people." (http://notetaker.typepad.com/cgm/2006/12/at_the_most_rec.html)

Retrieved from "http://p2pfoundation.net/Meme"


Key Books to Read

The Electric Meme. Robert Aunger.


The Meme Machine by Susan Blackmore, Oxford University Press, 1999


The Lucifer Princaple by Howard Bloom, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2002