Meme, memes or memetic code

The term "meme" (pron. "meem") labels a theoretical concept referring to any unit of cultural information which one mind transmits (verbally or by demonstration) to another mind. Examples might include thoughts, concepts, ideas, theories, opinions, beliefs, practices, habits, songs, dances and moods. Different definitions of meme generally have in common, very roughly, that a meme consists of some sort of self-propagating unit of cultural evolution having an analogous resemblance to the gene (the unit of genetic information). As memes include all or most discrete pieces of information about which humans think, incorporating new memes can alter one's perceptions. Memes in themselves appear morally neutral. However, the application of memes can have implications, which may result in either positive or negative results. Memes have, as their fundamental property, evolution via natural selection, on the premise that replication, mutation, survival, and competition influence them. For example, while one idea may become extinct, others will survive, spread, and mutate — for better or for worse — through modification. Memes that are the most effective replicators spread best, which allows for the possibility that successful memes might prove detrimental to their hosts. Origins of the concept. Richard Dawkins coined the term meme. Dawkins used the term to refer to any cultural entity (such as a song, an idea or a religion) that an observer might consider a replicator. He hypothesized that people could view many cultural entities as replicators, through exposure to humans, who have evolved as efficient (though not perfect) copiers of information and behavior. Memes do not always get copied perfectly, and might indeed become refined, combined or otherwise modified with other ideas, resulting in new memes, thus providing a framework for a theory of human behavior and cultural evolution. Memes often occur in groups called “memeplexes” or "meme complexes", such as religious, cultural, or political doctrines. Though Dawkins defined the meme as “a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation”, memeticists vary in their definitions of meme. The lack of a consistent, rigorous and precise definition of a meme remains one of the principal criticisms leveled at memetics. Memes are not only transmitted vertically (from generation to generation) via replication of genes, they can also be transmitted vertically by replication. Some life-forms can spread from their host horizontally, within groups of contemporaries. The phrase memetic drift (formed by analogy to genetic drift) refers to the process of a meme changing as it replicates from one person to another. Memetic drift increases when meme transmission occurs in an awkward way. Very few memes show strong memetic inertia (the characteristic of a meme to manifest in the same way and to have the same impact regardless of who receives or transmits the meme). Dawkins observed that cultures can evolve in much the same way that populations of organisms evolve. Various ideas pass from one generation to the next; such ideas may either enhance or detract from the survival of the people who absorb those ideas, or influence the survival of the ideas themselves. This process affects which of those ideas will survive for passing on to future generations. Evolution requires not only inheritance and natural selection but also mutation, and memes also exhibit this property. Ideas may undergo changes in transmission which accumulate over time. Generations of hosts pass on these changes in the "phenotype" (the information in brains or retention systems). When imitation first evolved in the animal ancestors of humans, it proved itself a valuable skill for learning, which increased an individual's ability to reproduce genetically. Some have speculated that sexual selection of the best imitators further drove a genetic increase in the ability of brains to imitate well. Memes can propagate by imitation (direct or indirect) of one individual by another, and in this respect may depend on brains sufficiently powerful to assess the key aspects of the imitated behavior (what to copy and why) as well as its potential benefits. Researchers have observed memetic copying in just a few species on Earth. Both genes and memes can survive much longer than the individual organisms that carry them. Memetic engineering consists of the process of developing memes, through meme-splicing and memetic synthesis, with the intent of altering the behavior of others. The memetic description needs to be complemented with a description of what makes a meme easily absorbable by people other than the original carrier. Only the number of extant copies (and where those copies reside) determines the success of a gene or of a meme. A strong (but not complete) correlation exists between genes that do well and genes that have a positive effect on the organism that contains those genes. And if we can restrict attention to memes normally interpreted as statements of fact, then a correlation emerges between those memes that do well and those that reflect reality. However, some genes and memes do survive which owe their success to other factors. Similarly, a correlation exists between successful memes of a technological/economic nature and those that help the economy (such as slavery and free markets (each in their day), for instance). The evolutionary pressures on memes include much more than just truth and economic success. Evolutionary pressures may include the following: experience, happiness, fear, censorship, economics, and distinction. All of them transcend because of their likelihood to be remembered by individuals and to be recognized as socially important. One can modify, manipulate, and create meme systems in thought, for instance, through internal dialogue. Thus, one could conclude that we all perform the role of a memetic engineer to some degree (even if not consciously). One controversial application results in the idea that certain collections of memes can act as "memetic viruses": collections of ideas that behave as independent life forms which continue to get passed on — even at the expense of their hosts — simply because of their success at getting passed on. Others maintain that the wide prevalence of human adoption of religious ideas provides evidence to suggest that such ideas offer some ecological, sexual, ethical, or moral value; otherwise memetic evolution would long ago have selected against such ideas. Some spiritual practices such as Buddhism clearly promote ecological and moral goals recognizable to most people. The Judeo-Christian-Islamic religions focus more on devotion to a transcendent deity and to moral codes of behavior. On the other hand, Christianity and Islam also strongly encourage conversions and active (sometimes even violent) proselytizing. Memetic code: Genetic codes are information systems in the DNA that are coded to build a body according to a precise plan. A memetic code is a set of ideas that offers a comprehensive view of reality, and transforms civilizations. Many recent memetic codes such as Nazism and communism, have been shown to be failures. Other memes are being challenged now, such as global capitalism, fundamentalist religion, materialist science, and representative democracy. New memes are arising in every function, offering the possibility of a new “memetic code” for a universal co-creative society based on innovations that actually are working to develop a sustainable and regenerative world. A goal of conscious evolution is to create a matrix for the memetic code for self and social evolution to emerge as a coherent information system to guide us in the building of new worlds on this earth and new worlds in space. We seek to identify the memetic code that can optimize humanity’s potential, developing a society equal to our spiritual, social, and scientific potential.