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From: JAHAYES@MIAMIU.BITNET (Josh Hayes)
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic,sci.bio
Subject: Communication and meme flow (was Re: we are alien)
Message-ID: <90334.121615JAHAYES@MIAMIU.BITNET>
Date: 30 Nov 90 17:16:15 GMT
Organization: Miami University - Academic Computer Service
Lines: 17

We are drifting closer to an interesting subject probably not
appropriate for sci.skeptic, so I suggest followups to sci.bio.
The "leap forward" that communication allows is the creation
of shared concepts or ideas. Richard Dawkins and others have
coined the term 'meme' for a single coherent idea, intended to
be analogous to 'gene'. It seems obvious that meme flow and
evolution within the, um, "memome" (as "genome") could be much
more rapid than strictly genetic evolution. It is perhaps not
surprising that human evolution is so damn fast, because so much
of human evolution is social, not genetic....it's sort of an
arena that other organisms on this planet have not exploited,
abstraction of ideas, at least, as far as we know....
--------
Josh Hayes, Zoology Department, Miami University, Oxford OH 45056
voice: 513-529-1679      fax: 513-529-6900
jahayes@miamiu.bitnet, or jahayes@miamiu.acs.muohio.edu
"I am the Supreme Being, you know; I'm not completely dim."


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