Re:Memes are a myth
by snowwrestler on Thursday May 14, 2015 @02:52PM
(#9546854)
I don't think the The Selfish Gene was never intended to be a literal explanation of how evolution works. It was intended to be a novel way of looking at evolution; a new way of explaining how it works in a way that might stick with people. That's why it was a popularly published book, not a scientific paper.
Genes are not actually selfish; they can't be. It's an obvious anthropomorphism, which is more useful as a metaphor than a rigorous theory.
As the book progresses, Dawkins takes this idea into further and further flights of speculation, seeing how well it might apply to any aspect of human society and experience. I haven't read the book in a while, but my memory is that this section of the book is home to some hilariously dated notions of "biology that needs explaining," like why women like to cook and clean the house, and men prefer to get drunk and cheat on their wives. (I'm exaggerating but not by much).
It is in this section of the book--already fairly far out on the limb of speculations--where he introduces the concept of the meme. So it's never been on very solid ground, scientifically.
In terms of its physical manifestation, that is a problem for information in general. A copy of the Bible, and a copy of the Bible in which the letters have been rearranged randomly, is indistinguishable by any physical test short of a human being reading it.
Genes are not actually selfish; they can't be. It's an obvious anthropomorphism, which is more useful as a metaphor than a rigorous theory.
As the book progresses, Dawkins takes this idea into further and further flights of speculation, seeing how well it might apply to any aspect of human society and experience. I haven't read the book in a while, but my memory is that this section of the book is home to some hilariously dated notions of "biology that needs explaining," like why women like to cook and clean the house, and men prefer to get drunk and cheat on their wives. (I'm exaggerating but not by much).
It is in this section of the book--already fairly far out on the limb of speculations--where he introduces the concept of the meme. So it's never been on very solid ground, scientifically.
In terms of its physical manifestation, that is a problem for information in general. A copy of the Bible, and a copy of the Bible in which the letters have been rearranged randomly, is indistinguishable by any physical test short of a human being reading it.