Re: MEMETICS: The Triumph of Reason
Damien Broderick (damien@ariel.ucs.unimelb.edu.au)
Tue, 21 Jan 1997 11:23:39 +1000
At 08:47 PM 1/19/97 -0800, Mr Willow wrote:
>James Roger wrote:
>===
>The strength of these bad memes is more apparent than actual. By
>definition, a "bad" meme is one that at some fundamental level is
>incorrect, inadequate, or counterproductive.
>===
>
>Really? Another definition of bad meme could be that it interferes with
>my goals. Dogmatism and conformity could be bad for me but good for
>most other people. Or to blend this with your definition:
>counterproductive of what?
If `meme' has any degree of rigour (which I rather doubt), a `bad meme', by
definition, is simply one that fails to reproduce itself, while a `good
meme' is one whose replication approaches maximal inclusive fitness. To
confound the *content* of the meme with its worth (as assayed by some other
memetic gauge) is to miss the point completely. My 2$s worth.
Damien Broderick