There is something very fitting about the varying ways the word "meme" is being used, on LJ and elsewhere: after all, the concept of "meme" is reflexive, and if a meme is analogous to a gene, it should be expected to mutate.
What weirds me out (as an evolutionary biologist) is that I'm much less inclined to agree that the things that are typically called memes on lj are "real" memes - sure, they go from mind to mind, but they don't stick around, or seem to make many changes in thinking patterns. They're more like viruses than genes.
But the meme of "memes" in this sense definitely is a meme - it's now a permanent idea that affects how people think about certain situations. Dawkins (who invented the concept) has pointed out that meme is a very reflexive concept, and this seems a prime example.
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Re: A sleepy thought
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But the meme of "memes" in this sense definitely is a meme - it's now a permanent idea that affects how people think about certain situations. Dawkins (who invented the concept) has pointed out that meme is a very reflexive concept, and this seems a prime example.