Are You Infected By Memes? Your genes, that part of the gnomic sequence, can they be infected by the meme virus? Your genes are what are colloquially referred to as your inheritable traits. What if you existed for your genes and not the genes for you? A gene Darwinian Evolution by natural selection of genes at the expense of other genes. An altruistic gene allowing the selfish genes to be carried forward to achieve a future gene that has a greater survival not for the survival of the person with the genes but for the survival of the gene's selfishness. The gene is selfish and is looking out for its own survival not yours. Does the gene have an idea or culture virus that will kill off any idea or culture it can not subdue or arbitrate into submission. A real war going on inside of you. A war of the genes. Ridiculous, you say. Maybe not. The "Selfish" gene concept is helping science understand that genes can reproduce at the expense of the organism to achieve its own survival. The gene creates its own idea or cultural bias. Maybe ideas do not come from our brains but the gene that is selfish. Do we not rely on the acidophilus bacteria to break down starches and protein to produce sugars our body converts into energy. The selfish gene explains the altruism and survival of the individual sacrificing its own life to protect the lives of kin. Thus the individual is acting in the interest of its own selfish genes. Not to carry itself forward but to allow a more selfish gene of its kin to go forward. This theory of the selfish gene holds that the natural selection of the gene-centered evolution is to act through differential survival of competing genes to increase the frequency of alleles that promote their own propagation successfully.
Culture refers to the human activities and symbolic structures that are best understood as music, literature, painting, sculpture, theater, and film. Often culture is defined to be the beliefs, codes, manners, dress, rituals. morality and behavior of a people that are bound by their myths and metaphors.
When your selfish gene becomes infected by an 'idea-virus' and alters your behavior, your action to relieve the fever of the idea-virus is to tell your friends and expose them to the idea-virus thus exposing a whole generation to a new idea-virus. Was the 'Beatles Generation' an idea-virus? How about the Clinton idea-virus 'It's the Economy Stupid.' Are we in an 'Obama' idea-virus?
Any idea that can alter a generation's culture is called a 'meme' (pronounce meem).
Examples of memes (From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme)
Common memes include:
* Common sense, as spread from generation to generation
* Popular works, such as music, literature, and video; often transmitted in the form of specific quotes and scenes.
* Technology and technological artifacts: cars, paper-clips, etc. Technology demonstrates mutation as well as transmission, which memetic (or genetic) progress requires.
An often-cited example of "technology as meme" involves the building of a fire. Some researchers sometimes refer to memes concerning technology as "temes", which rhymes with "memes".[6] Also see Moore's Law.
* Traditions, including religion, fashion, proverbs, epic poems, stories, music, dance, and children's culture
* Theories, including scientific, pseudo-scientific, and conspiratorial
* Medical and safety advice: "Don't swim for an hour after eating", "Stop, drop, and roll".
* Popular concepts: these include Freedom, Justice, Ownership, Open Source, Egoism, or Altruism
* Group-based biases: everything from antisemitism and racism to cargo cults.
* Programming paradigms: from structured programming and object-oriented programming to extreme programming.
* Phrases, slogans, and expressions. May come from advertising ("Whasssssup!"; sometimes accompanied by melodies), the Internet ("all your base are belong to us!") or politics ("mob rule")
* Viral marketing: a type of marketing based on memes and using "word of mouth" to advertise (see the recent example of Snakes on a Plane).
Understanding how memes change culture is a new study of the evolution of humankind. How memes will effect you? Well, you will be learning more about this because you have been memes idea-virus infected.
"The Selfish Gene" 1976 by Richard Dawkins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme
http://www.istop.com/~ggrant/memetics/memelex.html
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