I donāt understand what a āmemeā is.
I agree with Mark Twainās definition of patriotism.
As far as I can tell, a meme is the juxtaposition of words and pictures that get a point across very succinctly. Powerlineās āThe Week in Picturesā is a good example of them!
Thanks, Liz! Now Iāve got it.
In our online post-literate world, āmemesā (in the sense that Liz has defined them, not in Richard Dawkinsā use of the term) are a great weapon.
Iām starting a āMeme Farmā on another site (PatriotAction.US), but Iāll put a few here, in case anyone wants to post them elsewhere.
Iāve got many many more. Every online forum where the Left hangs out ought to have a few posted on it. Daily.
What is the difference between Lizās and Dawkinsās meaning of the word āmemeā?
This?
Meme theory (or memetic theoryāwith an āeā) explains the development of culture through the imitation of things: ideas, behaviors, and styles that are encoded as memes so they can be easily imitated. A meme is the cultural counterpart to a biological gene.
You knowā¦that Wiki thing.
Didnāt mean what?
A picture with words on it. (Not his definition of a meme).
I recall when Dawkins came out with this idea (and the word) ā āmemeā. He meant it as a sort of cultural equivalent of a gene ā something that persisted by replication [meme | Etymology, origin and meaning of meme by etymonline].
I didnāt like the idea at the time because it seemed to me the analogy was false. Genes replicate themselves because they give the organism which bears them a competitive advantage over its rivals which do not.
And you could argue that there is a cultural analogy: the society which invents gunpowder will displace the society which did not, as Che Guevara noted with respect to the native inhabitants of the Americas.
But it seemed to me that Dawkinsā āmemesā just spread, like a catchy tune. Why should one āmemeā catch on, and another die?
By the way, while reading about āmemesā, I came upon the Wiki bio of Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal. Itās very interesting: