Good start. But what exactly is this *unit*? With a gene, this
was easy, because a gene is a gene. A part of a gene is not a gene,
but a part of a meme can be. Also, a collection of genes is not a gene,
(I think. I may be wrong - I'm not a biologist) but a collection
of memes can be a meme (or meme complex, but I see the two used
interchangeably.)
Also, by this definition, anything expressible in any language is
a meme. That is any >idea<. I don't have a particular problem with
this, but it does rather leave the debate wide open.
> that is, a meme is a specific *type* of idea, one which is
> self-propagating. Any other use of the word is *abuse*[1].
Interesting. So all those ideas that float around my head and I wish
I had time to write down or work on more but don't, are not memes...
Aren't they just unsusccessful memes? Like genetic sports, not viable
so they don't reproduce.
Cheers,
Tim
-- Timothy M. C. Abbott, Ph.D. http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/~tmca/ Resident Astronomer tmca@cfht.hawaii.edu Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Tel: +1 808 885 7944 Box 1597, Kamuela, HI 96743 Fax: +1 808 885 7288