TD02 – Dawkins on Memes
NOTE: Last year, 2009, celebrated the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin on February 12 and the 150th of the publication of The Origin of Species. There were many celebrations worldwide. For example, there was Evolution – The Experience in Melbourne and Darwin 2009 – The Festival in England.
Oxford Professor, Richard Dawkins, is well known for his witty and elegant explanations of how Darwin’s Theory works in genetic detail. It’s all about replicator power!
Fitness survives!
In Dawkin’s acclaimed book on Darwin’s Theory, The Selfish Gene, he showed how fitness survives not only in biology but wherever we can find replicators at work.
As another example he coined the word meme as a unit of culture which gets passed on from person to person. A meme is a replicator like a gene. Successful genes replicate from DNA to DNA and successful memes replicate from brain to brain via word-of-mouth (WOM).
“Memes can be good ideas, good tunes, good poems, as well as drivelling mantras.” says Richard Dawkins in Unweaving the Rainbow. “Anything that spreads by imitation, as genes spread by bodily reproduction or by viral infection, is a meme … As with genes, we can expect the world to become filled with memes that are good at the art of getting themselves copied from brain to brain … It is enough that memes vary in their infectivity for darwinian selection to get going … We may think this spreading for the sake of spreading rather futile, but nature is not interested in our judgements, of futility or anything else. If a piece of code has what it takes, it spreads and that’s that … In Climbing Mount Improbable I explained that an elephant’s DNA and a virus are both ‘Copy Me’ programmes. The difference is that one of them has an almost fantastically large digression: ‘Copy me by building an elephant first’. But both kinds of programmes spread because, in their different ways, they are good at spreading.
The meme is a very useful tool for understanding how WOM in marketing works because it allows us to harness much of the power of Darwin’s Theory. Today, memetics is one of the fastest growing ideas in science. Memetics allows us to understand not only how people get ideas but, more importantly, how ideas acquire people or how minds become memed.
NOTE: Just a note on repetition. As you’ll see, repetition is a very powerful tool when we’re establishing new brain patterns. For example, you’ll notice repetition in this training course and the main point is that it is deliberately put there for your benefit. It’s to help your brain acquire these ideas more easily, or, to put it another way, to help these ideas acquire your brain more easily. The most important memes are the ones that are invested with the most repetition.
Susan Blackmore in her enlightening book The Meme Machine explains, “We do copy each other all the time and we underestimate what is involved because imitation comes so easily to us. When we copy each other, something, however intangible, is passed on. That something is the meme. And taking a meme’s eye view is the foundation of memetics.”
••• Click through here to Susan’s delightful TED talk
In marketing, nothing is more important than taking the meme’s eye-view because nothing is more important than WOM.
WOM is the meme that gets itself passed on from one customer to another. Or, a meme is the WOM that allows one customer’s brain to become ‘infected’ by another brain. Memes reside in the brain (like genes reside in DNA) and how they get from one brain to another is what memetics is all about. Only the fittest memes survive. Think of the marketplace as the meme pool. There are vastly more memes than there are brains to shelter them. Which ones will survive? Why? Which ones will fail? Why?
DFQ TD02 Feedback Question:
What is a meme?
Give an example of a meme that has been good at getting inside and surviving in your brain …
January 11th, 2012 at 3:58 pm
A meme is an idea which is imitated, copied and spreads from person to person and become one’s own for the person.
A meme that has survived in my brain is: “Generosity is the best strategy in life and business.”
January 5th, 2012 at 10:07 am
A meme is unit of culture which is imitated, copied and spreads from person to person.
A meme that has survived in my brain is: “Everything is a bit of give and take.”
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:42 pm
meme is a unit of culture that is replicated by imitation, that arises out variation, and selection. It is spread by word of mouth and is a brain brain connection without the intervention of the mind.
fight fire with fire
December 5th, 2011 at 10:54 pm
A good meme that survives in my brain is: the colour a persons skin is of no more significance than the colour of their eyes. Bob Marley.
December 1st, 2011 at 8:39 am
Anything that spreads by imitation, as genes spread by bodily reproduction or by viral infection, is a meme
My belief in the effectiveness of Word of Mouth marketing and advertising continues to survive in my brain.
November 30th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
“Do as I say and not as I do”.
“In order to get respect you must first give it”.
“You have to make a mess in order to clean it”.
Just a couple of examples of memes introduced when younger and are still with me today….amazing.
November 14th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
9/11 is the day the world changed
October 30th, 2011 at 5:58 pm
An idea that gets passed from one persons brain to another. The date is October 31, 2011.
October 29th, 2011 at 6:38 pm
The meme of “there is no such thing as a free lunch” has been good at getting inside of and surviving in my brain.
October 18th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
actions are louder than words is a meme that comes to mind for me.
October 11th, 2011 at 10:22 am
Retire in Florida.
September 29th, 2011 at 1:14 am
A meme that is inside my brain and still surviving is : “Do it yourself but with the help of the others.” Beautifull! Hmmm?
September 28th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
let me get this right, whereas DNA would be a genetic meme, a thought is a brain meme? So a meme that has survived in my brain given to me by someone else is that I am opiniated, it should have been assertive, the conotations are better. I wouldn’t have had to stick up for myself so much otherwise.
September 6th, 2011 at 2:38 pm
A meme is an interpretation of a thought, sight , sound or touch that is caught from someone else.
someof my memes are scraps of music and lyric that relate to situations I find myself in. For example ‘ the Seekers ‘Im leaving on a jet plane’….
A meme I enjoy is the response ‘ Everything we have is in this moment’
September 2nd, 2011 at 12:05 pm
There are some songs that get inside my brain. Even though these songs seem dormant and i dont hear them inside my head for some time…. something triggers them and they pop into my head again.
August 9th, 2011 at 5:52 pm
The meme of cvs2bvs
August 7th, 2011 at 4:40 am
A meme is a gene unit that has the capability of replicating and passing on to others people so as to help understand how certain ideas are being acquired by people.
A MEME THAT HAS BEEN GOOD AT GETTING INSIDE AND SURVIVING IN MY BRAIN IS THE POWER OF PASSING ON THE SKILL OF PRACTICES AND REPETITION THROUGH EXERCISES.
August 5th, 2011 at 5:29 am
Part of Winston Churchill’s speech in the darkest days for England during WWII:
“…we will fight on the beaches, we will fight in the cities, we will fight on the streets, we will fight for every corner but we will never surrender!”
Albert Einstein:
“Imagination is more important than knowledge”
US Navy SEALs:
“The only easy day was yesterday!”
August 5th, 2011 at 12:46 am
time winged chariot hurries near and yonder all before us lie deserts of vast eternity
just the idea if you want to do something you have to plan to do it
if you leave things they will never be done
August 4th, 2011 at 10:57 pm
A meme is something in this case passed from person to person.
Receiving the instructions from teachers that taught me to read. This was something that was good at getting and surviving in my brain.
July 19th, 2011 at 1:00 pm
Climb the mountain one step at a time— is a meme I never forget. For the students who are rushing and for me when I am rushing it slows me down.
All of my Tai Chi Chuan classess are repitition and practice. Perfect Practice Prevents Poor Performance
July 18th, 2011 at 9:19 am
The African oral history, passed on from generation past is an example.
June 19th, 2011 at 11:01 pm
A meme is a unit of culture that is capable of being replicated and passed on to other people.
CVS2BVS
May 9th, 2011 at 6:52 pm
Meme is a stimulus which creates a pattern in the receivers brain. It enlightens the receiver towards an idea or a cause.
Make a difference, was a meme which struck me. It exhorted me to do what ever is possible and within my means to help people who are in dump. At the end of my training session I ask the participants to help develop one just one life. Give one person the hand to pull him/her out of the rut. If every person just helps one soul our world would definitely be a better place to live.
March 30th, 2011 at 5:48 pm
A meme could be people’s/ government’s opinion(s) on how this/that should be or look like………………… A meme that lives in me is ; Learn and know all the neccessary rules/laws that u need to know but consciously break some.
March 26th, 2011 at 6:02 pm
I understand meme as “Behavioral infection speared non sexually”
“Blood is thicker then water”….was the meme I nurtured for long…
January 8th, 2011 at 4:18 am
A meme is a unit of culture passed from person to person
A meme that that has been good at getting inside and surviving in my brain is “ohm mani padme hung”
December 23rd, 2010 at 10:04 am
A meme is a thought, idea, practice, symbol or value that is passed on through any form of communication.
A meme that is in my head:
“money is a plentiful resource raedy for me to collect”
December 12th, 2010 at 3:09 am
A meme that has stuck in my mind and changed me in many ways is Start Do Notice Think.
November 20th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
Meme is a unit of information or idea that can be passed from one person to another through word of mouth.
Standing for myself is an example of a meme that has been good at getting inside and surviving in my brain.
October 9th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Meme,is a copy that will change with time.
September 10th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
According to Richard Dawkins, a meme is a unit of culture passed from person to person e.g. an idea. A meme that has been passed on to me is the idea of the rapid proliferation of technology from “Moore’s Law” and it’s continued exponential growth.
September 10th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
A meme is a unit of culture that is passed from person to person.
A meme that has infected me is to get green tea at Starbucks. Really 2 memes–green tea is good for you and Starbucks is the place to get your coffee/tea.
August 26th, 2010 at 4:06 am
A simple meme would probably be when you hear a song on the radio on your way to work and just can’t stop humming it all day.
August 23rd, 2010 at 11:36 am
A meme is something that we learn from others by imitation or WOM.
Tunes that I learnt on the accordion have been good at getting inside and surviving in my brain despite not having played in quite some time until recently.
August 20th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Anything that spreads by imitation is a meme…
Many of my mannerisms, values and personality traits have been passed down to me from my parents…
August 17th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Love of the live theatre. This was imbedded when I was very young,not yet a teenager. In Dublin there was three venues for live professional presentations. The Abbey Theatre; which kept strictly to plays about Ireland by Irish playwrights. The Gate mounted plays from all over and were comic or moving dramas. The Queens was strictly variety. A friend told me that if we stood outside the Abbey and kept very quiet, we would be allowed to occupy the empty seats. It was understood that at the end of Act 1 we would walk out unbidden. The same applied for Act 11 or 111. Only the Abbey usher allowed this. Admittedly there were plays we never did see completely. I was amazed to see grown ups on stage using accents like my own. I loved the changing scenery and lighting. Although I did not always comprehend the plots or premise, I did learn to sit still and be quiet for extended periods. The Gate was under the aegis of Lord Longford , no freebies there or at the Queens. Before discovering this lurk I had only ever been to the cinema on very rare occasions, It was the enthusiasm of my friend that got me interested. He told me that his father told him; the Abbey was world famous and that Irish actors in Hollywood had started there. It became a life long love affair.
August 16th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Something that survives in your brain, a thought pattern. Mum used to say… If you can’t say anything nice then don’t say anything at all, something that is repeated and embedded in our thinking from the culture in which we live. Aeroplane jelly, Happy little vegemites, times tables on the back of my school exercise books and my favourite ritual from my father in law. :Have I told you that you are beautiful today?”
August 16th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
A meme is something that we copy from some one else, and it becomes part of us. This can then be transmitted to someone else by them copying us.
You know when you start saying things your parents said to you. – you swore you would not be like them, but all of a sudden, when you have children, something will come out your mouth, and you think, ‘I sound just like my mother’.
August 16th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
A meme is a thought, idea, practice, symbol or value that is passed on through any form of communication.
I would say that my mannerisms are a very obvious meme that I have inherited from my family.
August 16th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
“Only a surfer knows the feeling”. A marketing tag line that has taken on a life of its own. This conveys the notion that a sub-culture exists amongst surfers, founded on such a unique experience that it cannot be assumed or known by those who do not surf. Surfers hold both a physical and emotional connection with the ocean and revere its potential to provide fun, fear or harm in an instant. More than an adreniline ride, it is a place where you can retreat and be rid of the other worldly issues that bother you, as you are constantly imbedded in the environment as you go about riding waves and making use of an ever-changing natural phenomenon, a wave. This is a powerful meme as it drives people to travel worldwide, to respect nature, it determines surf industry trade, it shapes lifestyle choices and in some locations, it shapes community values.
August 16th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
My mother always used to say “this too will pass” and I hated it but now I find myself saying it not only to myself but to my children as well. And not only do I say it but with life experience behind me I see the wisdom of this meme too.
July 13th, 2010 at 11:43 am
A meme is a value, idea or pattern of behaviour. Passed on to another by means other than reproduction.
I believe my late Father to be one of the wisest, balanced human beings I have ever had the pleasure to be influenced by.
His Meme of “Everything in balance” sums up just about anything you care to throw it at.
Don’t forget Monty Python, Bill Cosby and Billy Connolly.
Anyone with an ounce of humour, reading this, is thinking of a meme created by one of these guys right now or this is an EX PAROT
July 10th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
A meme is an idea, a thought, a lesson that gets lodged in the brain. The value of repetition in order to internalize an idea is something that has got into my head – meme Ha! Ha!
July 6th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
A meme is something that can be imitated. A meme can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena. An example of a meme would be a student learning math from a math teacher.
July 6th, 2010 at 8:56 am
The phrase:
“The field is best fertilised by the feet of the farmer”.
It applies to many things.
July 1st, 2010 at 7:39 pm
A transmittable cultural idea.
The language we speak and the accent we use.
June 28th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Something that is repeated (replayed) continuously in order to leave a long-lasting imprint in your brain and assists in easy recall.
Well the obvious one I have to say is CVS2BVS in more recent times.
Strong corporate messages (e.g. safety themes or mottos).
June 21st, 2010 at 6:15 pm
An idea or concept that my be copied or tranferred.
The cult of celebrity could be considered a meme people who are famous for being famous.
June 13th, 2010 at 11:18 pm
Second language.
May 25th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
A meme is an idea or concept that may be replicated by another entity.
I am full of them:
> the techniques learned over the course of this training are memes.
> many of the practices of polite society are memes ( manners, respect etc)
By the way, Martin has a case of PTV ! Better get that checked out…
May 21st, 2010 at 6:27 pm
A meme is a transferable idea.
The meme itself is a meme.
April 23rd, 2010 at 9:18 am
I cannot think of a single one at present. I don’t watch much commercial TV and do not listen to commercial radio. Guess I’m not much of a consumer.
March 30th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
A meme is idea, concept, information that is passed on to others and replicated. The more it is passed on the stronger it becomes
March 13th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
A meme is something that is useful/memorable not only to the person that recieves it but also to the person that they pass it onto.
Most of the social graces that we learn as a child fit in this space.
February 10th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
What is a meme? An idea that can survive and replicate through word of mouth.
Virtually everything I learned “parrot fashion” at an early age
1 Times tables, the notes on a keyboard
2 My mother saying, “if you don’t eat your meat you won’t get any pudding”
3 Great marketing catchphrases, like “happy little vegemite” or later “just do it”
January 21st, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Meme – idea or concept that is transferable.
Bigger is better. An idea that has to be constantly challenged as it isn’t always true.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:05 am
“A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle” (only joking)
The establishment in the Aussie vernacular of the word “Mate” and it’s application as “Mate-ship” is one that springs to mind.
January 8th, 2010 at 9:33 am
The thoughts that resonate and cycle in my brain, which I think of as my memes, include
* “think positive” (now morphing its way into CVS2BVS)
* “if it is to be, it is up to me” (or Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror when I am feeling musical!)
January 5th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
A meme is a seed that takes root.
I absolutely know that Apple is better than PC yet have never used an Apple. Amazing that.
January 5th, 2010 at 9:24 am
Memes are “culture genes”, transmissible facets of behaviour and culture that are subject to variation and competitive selection in a manner analogous to the physical genes of DNA.
Every garden needs trees – a meme acquired from my parents, shared with my husband, reinforced by experience and propogated by whatever means my memic chromosomes can discover.
January 5th, 2010 at 8:31 am
A meme is an idea or practice, which is transmitted from one mind to another by imitation via speech, gestures, rituals etc.
The catch-phrase “catch-22″ (From the book of the same name by Joseph Heller) to indicate self-contradictory circular logic is a meme I used just recently.
December 25th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
In my opinion meme are idea, information that pass on to other people. They could come from different sources WOM, print, medias.
Meme that has been good and surviving in my brain is ‘to think before beliving’. I first pause, consider if it is from reliable source. Almost always ‘ask question(s)’. I used to surprised few people calls me ‘Miss Why’. They (conincidently) mentoned I there always ‘what and why’ when we converse.
December 24th, 2009 at 8:52 am
A meme is a “copy me” idea or act or gesture ,readily accepted person to person.
It is like a virus ,in that it travels imperceptibly…we barely notice it moving from one person to another ….word of mouth is one way by which it moves.
December 24th, 2009 at 8:05 am
A meme is a transmissable item of cultural or linguistic importance and memorability and universal usefulness.
Speeches will be memorable if commenced with impact and closed with something listeners can take home ….leave them laughing.
December 16th, 2009 at 6:33 am
What is a meme?
Meme is something that gets passed on.
Give an example of a meme that has been good at getting inside and surviving in your brain …
Always question and be brave.
December 15th, 2009 at 8:19 am
memes help establish & hold information or memory that can set off triggers to act or move in a certain way or direction.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 14:11 NIV
December 14th, 2009 at 8:54 am
A meme is something that is passed on by repeating.
I have a great repertoire of 30 – 40year old songs from my guitar playing days! ( That’s scary! The Beatles’ songs are now, how old? 45???)
December 3rd, 2009 at 2:21 pm
A meme is an idea or concept passed from one person to another.
I have a cousin who is a total meme generator, sometimes I pick them up too. Even memes I don’t want sticking around. Words like ‘chillax’, acronyms like BFF (that’s Best Friend Forever for those not in the know).
Then there is the smiley face meme
which I use almost everyday.
November 18th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
“Common things occur commonly”
This was taught to me by a vet, during my early days in diagnostic micro,parasitology and post-mortem examinations. I now apply it equally well to troubleshooting in IT.
When you’re trying to sort a problem out, check and rule out the basics first.
November 16th, 2009 at 9:12 am
“Aussie kids are weet bix kids” was a successful advertising campain accompanied by an annoying jingle tune that continues to stick with me sespite my best efforts to drive it out for good. From time to time I still find myself humming it even though its 20 years old. In my case it is more the music than the associated vision that were the effective meme.
November 13th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Something that you copied from someone else or something someone copied from you.
Fake it until you make it
November 13th, 2009 at 8:52 am
A meme is an idea that can replicate from brain to brain.
A meme that has survived i n my brain is “practice does not make perfect, it will however make you as good as you will ever be”
November 9th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
A meme is a unit of culture passed from one brain to another.
An example of a meme that survives in my brain is the concept of celebrating Christmas with a special lunch although I’m not a Christian.
November 8th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Memes are like elephants, they never forget. Once accepted by the the conciousness, the meme will be there to eternity. Some memes are so powerful that they reach critical mass, then are accepted by humans as is.
John Lennon’s, “All you need is love”.
November 6th, 2009 at 8:23 am
A meme is something that can move from one person to another.
For me it is copying a mannerism which was highlighted to me by family – when sitting on a couch reading the paper I do exactly what my father does.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
A meme is a cultural idea that can replicate from person to person.
A meme that has been good at getting inside and surviving in my brain would be the one-four-five pattern common in western music.
November 5th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Memes are ideas that spread from person to person-not always because they are good ideas but there is something about them that enables them to replicate like a gene.
A meme that gets inside my brain is often a catchy song or jingle- even if I don’t really like it.
November 5th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
A meme is an idea which gets passed from person to person ie it replicates like a gene! Ameme that sticks in my head is often a bad song that I don’t even really like but has something very catchy about it.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:03 am
A meme is as a unit of culture which gets passed on from person to person; it is a replicator like a gene.
A meme that has been good at getting inside and surviving in my brain: Looks are deceiving. (I believe this wholeheartedly!)
October 28th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
A meme is an idea that can replicate. Successful memes survive by replicating through WOM.
A meme that has been good at getting inside and surviving in my brain (since I was 25) is that smoking is not good for me.
October 27th, 2009 at 10:47 am
A meme is a piece of information or a behaviour that can be copied from person to person and is subject to variation and selection.
It will survive and spread in a culture if we like it or if it’s useful.
For example, a simple thing like saying “thankyou” in response to something someone else has done, would be a meme.
A meme that has entered and survived in my brain is the behaviour of driving my car on the left-hand side of the road in Australia.
When I was 18 years old I learned that this was a good thing to do. Lots of other people do it – with a few variations and
I’ve passed the concept on to other people.
October 26th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
The fact that we are actually one energy, split into different bodies to experience different aspects of the world we live in. It therefore makes sense to do all, for the greater good of all, starting with oneself.
October 25th, 2009 at 3:59 am
memes involves the use of word of mouth to influence people’s attitude.
By recommending to a person where to get a solution to a problem.
October 25th, 2009 at 3:01 am
WOM is the meme that gets itself passed on from one customer to another. Or, a meme is the WOM that allows one customer’s brain to become ‘infected’ by another brain. Memes reside in the brain (like genes reside in DNA) and how they get from one brain to another is what memetics is all about. Only the fittest memes survive. Think of the marketplace as the meme pool. There are vastly more memes than there are brains to shelter them. Which ones will survive? Why? Which ones will fail? Why?
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:39 am
Memes can be mesmorising and transcendental for example the Yoga Mantra OM.
October 21st, 2009 at 3:07 pm
A meme is thought/idea/strategy that is passed on from human to another. Don’t you see heaps of it when a child ape’s a phrase from one of their parents!!
A monty python “Don’t judge others or you might get judged yourself”
October 20th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
A meme to me is a cultural habit or expression that is self replicating and not necessarily useful.
Music and cultural habits that are passed on are common themes here for me. Perhaps the most widely used are common greetings.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Like with SR, more often than not music is involved. Different moods result in different songs coming to mind (and of course songs can induce moods).
Silly example (bit along the lines of BigHB, and only vaguely related to my above statement) is: Daa da da da daa – Toyota.
Non-music example are the Golden Arches, The Three Stripes, The Prancing Horse – plenty more. As you can see I’m probably paying too much attention to advertising – or the memes are really good!!
October 18th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
A meme is cultural DNA, the ideas, myths and behaviours which get passed from person.
The most infectous meme for me is the Nike catch cry “Just Do It”. A very powerful combination of three words which when taken as a mantra across a culture or organisation would be a highly effective tool for growth and action.
October 17th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
a meme from the courses i had to attend for work.
Assume Innocence.
There is always the other story that unless you listen to it you will never find out all the facts before you make you opinion.
I have this now stuck in my head and it isnt just my work life that i use this Assuming Innocence.
October 17th, 2009 at 10:30 am
A meme is some small idea that reside in one’s brain, and is acquired or spread thru’ speech, habit, culture, behaviour etc.
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When I was young , my mother said, if she doesnt have a good education, she’d rather be borned a dog than a human….ie. a good eduation is very important…..that idea has stuck in my head.
October 14th, 2009 at 6:35 am
A meme is an idea virus that spreads from person to person.The degree of infection depends upon the host acceptance of said meme.Even a rejection of the meme expresses the meme and growth proceeds without interruption.The true test of a meme is in adaptability to an ever changing cultural organism.
October 13th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
What babyboomer can forget Catch 22, a hysterically funny novel, I think I will read it again soon.
“There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.”
“That’s some catch, that catch-22,” he observed.
“It’s the best there is,” Doc Daneeka agreed.
October 13th, 2009 at 6:16 am
From another leadership course: “Be here now.”
October 12th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Meme’s are behaviours passed down from generation to generation, through immitation. Eating dinner at the dinner table with the family each night, with the TV turned off, is an important one to make sure we continue.
October 12th, 2009 at 7:18 am
Music or lyrics. Some are pretty short lived. One that has really managed to defeat my meme immune system is ‘Take 5′. The start of that track has lived with me since I first heard it…in fact think I better break out the iPod now and reenforce that meme!
October 11th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
A meme is something that is spread by imitation.
Here’s a bit of a crazy one that has got inside my brain and survived. Worse than that it has also infected my 3 children. Someone once told my mum that you could tell if spaghetti was cooked to perfection by removing a single piece when you think it is about done and throwing it against the kitchen wall. If it sticks it is cooked perfectly. If it doesn’t, wait a bit longer and repeat until you get a stick. Mum did this every time we had spaghetti and now as an adult I repeat this ridiculous ritual much to my husband’s disgust. My three kids each queue up to take their turn at tossing spaghetti across the kitchen. Like I did they will grow up to believe that this is the best way to cook perfect spaghetti in spite of the best efforts of their father to convince them otherwise. I carry on with this practice not just because it works (guaranteed ‘al dente’ every time) but I think more so because I remember how much fun it was as a kid to throw spaghetti around the kitchen with mum.
October 8th, 2009 at 1:39 am
Some words and behaviour that are easily repeated again and again and again.
The words to the Chris Rea song ‘Josephine’. The melody and key changes have really hooked into my brain. The words dance effortlessly with the music and trickle out of brain many times a day.
October 7th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Stereotypes are good memes that linger for generations. Instant judgements are made because of them even tho there is another good saying “never judge a book by it’s cover”. Stereotypes seem to dominate regardless.
October 7th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
A unit of culture which gets passed on from person to person..Lots of saying form my mother…”Empty vessels make the most sound”.. “You have two ears and one mouth” ..use them in that proportion..love of individual sporting pursuits from my farther..times tables from teachers
October 7th, 2009 at 11:07 am
A Meme is an idea or value or pattern of behavior that is passed from one person to another.
The way our comminity speeks, our values and perceptions and beliefs. And then we get to CHOOSE!
October 7th, 2009 at 9:01 am
memes are a unit of culture that gets passed from person to person.It is a replicator,anything that spreads by imitation.
I would have to say a good meme that got inside my brain and has survived there is writing poetry and novels. It was passed down from great-great grandmother to great grandmother to grandmother to mother to me.
October 7th, 2009 at 5:49 am
A meme is any idea that infects a persons brain by the acceptance of its validity or truth by the recipient.
Humor has been a great way to get both good and bad memes into my brain for a long time. A good joke infects your brain immediately and you want to replicate it right away by telling it to other people. It’s amazing how this works in real life.
October 6th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
ideas that get passed on from person to person and from group to group
October 6th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Memes are words which create their physical equivalent by acquiring power through thinking/speaking them repeatedly with intensity,authority,emotion,expectation,imagination …..
Powerful memes imitate exponentially and impact numerous people.
A very useful meme I have come across is
I AM WHOLE,PERFECT,STRONG,POWERFUL,LOVING,HARMONIOUS AND HAPPY !
October 6th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Memories are memeplexes, strings of memes stored and passed on to others with similar culture, language, values. The first time a new meme infects, its meaning is clear and valued. Memes survive because they are useful, cool or irritant.
Internet is a thriving memeplex.
October 6th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
A meme is something that replicates itself and passes on to the next level / generation.
My meme is one I learned on the tennis court (written into the red dirt
and etched in my brain – so far for over 20 years!
H HeLi BeB CNOF NeNa MgALSi P S ClArKCa the first 20 elements (and I have another for the next 16)
October 6th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
A meme is a replicator of culture in a darwinian view to culture.
a meme that has been good at getting inside and surviving in my brain
nowadays: SDNT, cvs2bvs, QRH, PRR
in the past: “Don’t criticize religions, it is a matter of respect for those who believe….”
October 6th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
An example in my brain:
If you can visualise it you can do it better.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Meme = encapsulated concept or idea that communicates an element of intellectual, spiritual, emotional or physical understanding or percieved understanding, a building block in the house of our personal paradigm.
Meme surviving in my brain = athiests and agnostics are often as close minded as fundamentalists. they make a truth of no truth
October 6th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Hello,
My simple explanation, not necessarily accurate.
The word meme describes a varying collection of information that is observed then communicated to one or more observers.
I also have a more detailed, more complex, but not necessarily more accurate, explanation, that is based on my present limited understanding of more advanced topics.
This more detailed explanation may be correct for you in some way, depending on your ability to understand the intention and meaning I am trying to describe using a primitive written language that either you or I might misunderstand and/or misuse. I have taken only a small amount of care to try to reduce the potential for misunderstanding but this substantially increases the number of words I must use to describe this and so may ultimately have a negative effect on improving your understanding. In any case, I am still working on fully describing this more detailed explanation, so you have to wait.
An example of a good meme that has been good at getting inside my brain and surviving is … ‘violence is bad, and violence to prevent violence is also bad’. I can add to this by asking myself frequently ‘So is violence WORSE than violence to prevent violence?’
October 6th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
1. A meme is a highly replicable and transferable concept. An insidious little thing that’s leaped from one to another before you know it. Just like that.
2. Australia…the lucky country…
October 6th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Religious belief everywhere
October 6th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Memes are interesting. I mean recognizing your own and seeing them in others. Not as a criticism but as an interest. For example, to hear somebody sing a western style song, you can bet they sing it in the western voice style, a copy from a meme they didn’t even know they had taken aboard. That’s the way you sing ‘westerns’, sayeth the meme.
The ‘meme’ I confess to is one of ‘sound’. I see sounds as communications, be it a train whistle, a scream, a baby cry, music, yes even an advertisement on radio or TV.
Musical sounds should compliment the story that’s being communicated. Remember I’m talking about my meme. I ain’t sellin’ nuthin’. Which reminds me, the screaming, yelling advertising you hear on the Television has become a meme. ‘That’s how you do it’. Not for me. I see it as a communication aimed at the, well, I was going to say idiots, but I won’t say that. You can’t blame the advertisers, ’cause that’s where the market is, prepared by the memes already replicated. I ‘mute’ ‘em. But it shows an example of the fact that unlike ‘genes’ you can modify or even dispose of ‘memes’. If you Think About It.
October 6th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
“Anything that spreads by imitation, as genes spread by bodily reproduction or by viral infection, is a meme …
Messages that matches values or interests.
Example. I am interested in learning leadership so the message SOT leadership training is the best has the best chance of getting inside and surviving(In fact survived but no action from my side)
October 6th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
A meme is a belief.
A meme that has been good at getting side and surviving in my brain is that people are inherently good.
August 25th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
A meme is a replicator, it is a very powerful tool through repetition. Anything if you repeat 100 times, it becomes real in your brain, it directs your mind to your destination.
I repeat Napoleon’s words, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve” every day, it operates my mind very strongly, that I have a very positive attitude towards anything happen around me.
August 22nd, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Hello,
A meme is something that screams out “I am great ….COPY ME”
Its quite odd but some jingles stick inside my brain ………………
When I was approx 15 = 37 years ago there was a very cheesy ad on the television for Amoco petrol with somebody singing…
“Nice clean petrol has to be better, Amoco nice and clean, Amoco in your machine”
and another one “Opal Fruits made to make your mouth water”
and some lines from films
“Thats not a knife …….” (Crocodile Dundee)
“Go ahead make my day ……….”
“Of all the gin joints in all the world …………….”
“Its life Jim but not as we know it …….”
I have heard people adapt these film quotes and make puns on them and eberybody knows what they are doing and smiles at the memory of the original.
Bill
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:40 pm
A meme is an idea that, for whatever reasons, spreads very easily from person to person.
You have to work smarter not harder
July 22nd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
that our elders always know better than the younger ones
July 21st, 2009 at 6:50 am
A meme is information that replicates and spreads quickly.
Lately, cvstobvs has taken hold.
July 20th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
A meme (to me) is an idea, a thought tendril, a shareable fragment of attitude or culture.
A couple of examples I can’t get out of my head:
” Sharing a Coke and a _ _ _ _ _ ”
” Winston tastes good the way a cigarette should” Ok, you’d have to be a Yank to get that one.
“Cleanliness is next to godliness”
June 5th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
loyalty to family and country
June 5th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I see a meme as a viral thought or concept. Once communicated, any thought/concept has the potential of becoming a meme . All it needs is a receptive host to survive. For a host to be receptive the meme needs to resonate with a potential host’s universe of thought or being. In that way the meme is accepted then transferred. The spread of any meme depends on it’s universal resonance.
One meme that resonates with me is: “You have to pay for everything in life.”
June 4th, 2009 at 6:13 am
A meme is information which is replicated, in our species from brain to brain. Before SOT we may not have had a clue, now we can lay down our own and multiply unique life not just old progammed memes from childhood etc, we can now begin fresh daily.
life is hard, old meme life is a gift new meme
May 25th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
A meme is an idea that, for whatever reasons, spreads very easily from person to person.
Personal example: You can get what you want if you work hard enough for it.
May 25th, 2009 at 9:45 am
My parents transferred a number of memes to me, These memes came from their parents etc. Treat others as you would have them treat you. Share and share a like. Barrack for Essendon
May 21st, 2009 at 12:13 am
A Meme is a unit of culture that is passed on from person to person, by WOM.
The cultural ideal of altruism–that is, that one should be willing to exchange himself and his own values for something or someone else, some other “value” that is automatically deemed of “higher” value than the individual–a higher being (religion), nature (environmentalism), the collective (socialism). We accept without question the assumption that the “greater good” is furthered best when we give up our “selfish” desires. I submit that this Meta-Meme permeates our culture and competes with our inherent drive to survive as individuals–resulting in guilty compromise, resentment and authoritarianism.
May 19th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
An idea that takes on a life of its own through replication within a group of people. I disagree with a few comments below as a meme isn’t always good for siciety – its just good at spreading itself.
May 4th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
A Meme is something that someone other than the person that thought of it, but not entirely exclusively to just others, thinks is worthy of support, mimicing, developing, being part of, worthy of more time and effort. A meme is a successfully employed idea or concept that has for what ever reason had a positive and productive impact on whom ever it has had contact. The most successful Meme is the one that can make/provide/generate more money/success.
Fashion, communication devices, toys or any device that will support humans in making each and every day an easier target can be or could be classified as a meme.
May 4th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Meme is anything that spreads by imitation.
What are proposes of one life?
Life must have its purposes, I try to figure out, still keep trying though.
to reproduce?
to live?
to love?
to be loved?
to improve?
to mix in?
to be accepted?
to be nice with each other?
to support others?
to be selfish and coundn’t care less?
to be happy?
the list go on…..I will try.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
FQ02 (Feedback Question):
What is a meme?
Give an example of a meme that has been good at getting inside and surviving in your brain …
A meme is a replicator, a a “copy me” program, unit of culture that gets passed on from person to person. Other expressions for meme: a brain worm, an idea virus.
Memetics allows us to understand not only how people get ideas, but how ideas get people — how our minds get memed.
Susan Blackmore studies memes: ideas that replicate themselves from brain to brain via human consciousness like a virus. She makes a bold new argument: Humanity has spawned a new kind of meme, the teme, for technomeme or technology meme, which spreads itself via technology — and invents ways to keep itself alive.
.
Thinking of people and things Australian always makes me think of Vegemite. Is Vegemite a meme because it is easily spread?
April 28th, 2009 at 4:27 am
Fashion is one of the best examples, in my opinion, of memetics in action. The fact that the general majority dresses alike (an understatement) and applies the same care and interest in their wardrobe search and selection is a phenomenon of its own. The fact that we keep going through the same fashion cycles is an example of the sloweness of progression of creativity within that realm. Putting a slightly more serious spin on it, we have all grown up with the idea that history is cyclical. What does that say about us as thinking beings? Clearly, we are not thinking as we keep beating our head against the same way year in and year out.
April 21st, 2009 at 2:22 pm
McDonald’s Advertising – from about 20 years ago – if you could repeat this phrase in 3 seconds without error – you got somthing for free – funny that I don’t remember the reward but I remember the phrase:
“Two all beef patties, special sauce, letuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a seasame seed bun”
This is definitely remembered due to repitition – as kids we used to say it over and over and over and…………………..
April 16th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
“meme as a unit of culture which gets passed on from person to person. A meme is a replicator like a gene. Successful genes replicate from DNA to DNA and successful memes replicate from brain to brain via word-of-mouth (WOM).”
Social networking, as an online communication activity that is easily replicated, is a meme that has been surviving in my brain. More specifically, the meme is information and ideas sharing ie the sharing of shared ideas.
April 11th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
meme is like gene that is copied, duplicated, imitated
sdntcvs2bvsqrhprr
April 10th, 2009 at 12:33 am
an idea or view in culture which is passed on from person to person
April 5th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
A meme “is that which is imitated or copied from one person to another”.
A meme that has got inside my brain is the social media meme, especially Twitter.
April 1st, 2009 at 3:36 pm
A meme is something that is passed on to different people by repetition.
I know a lot of songs from the 50s and 60s because of repetition!
March 28th, 2009 at 9:32 am
A meme is something like a ligthhouse, something worth to track. However, as situations may change it is not static.
One important meme for me is to support my children to find their own way. Today this support is completely different than 15 years ago. But the meme is the same: to support them.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:56 pm
A meme is a resonance which brings about a reaction in the brain patterns of the recepient and provokes a change in the thought patterns and often in the physical actions of the recepient. A meme can be positive or negative, ranging from lemmings rushing into the sea to the search for Love and acceptance in humans. The reaction to memes can be significant the in acceptance and survival of all species.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:45 pm
The most prevalent meme in my brain, which pops up daily, infected my brain from IBM. I am very glad it infected me and I would not desire an antidote to this meme. IBM unfortunately sold their best meme to outsiders instead of standing by their best meme until the ship went down…………THINK!
March 12th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
I think memes are that which defines a culture. A meme is the unseen intangible component of our culture. A meme can be a gigantic groundswell, or the smallest drop in the ocean, either way, it holds equal power, as both have the ability to be replicated perfectly.
Do meme’s evolve, like the proverbial game “Chinese Whispers?” Can you plant a meme in the consciousness of one mind, and have it appear, 5 billion consciousnesses later, as an entirely different, yet somewhat familiar meme?
And is that what memories are made of? A fistful of meme’s? And if thats a yes, does that mean that our consciousness is made entirely of meme’s? And if a meme is a thought, and a thought is a chemical/electrical reaction inside the brain, does that mean I can chemically adjust my memes, as well as others?
I don’t know. Just asking a question.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:46 am
A meme is an odd, yet interesting idea–literally. It’s an idea that catches someone’s attention and causes the person to pass the idea on to someone else.
The memes have no predetermined value until the meme is passed on to enough people where it is recognized, discussed, written about, and spread to even more people.
A meme provides a self-generating need communicate, therefore guaranteeing that it will be copied.
A good meme: “what the mind … can conceive and believe, it can achieve…”
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:41 am
Memes are the ideas, habits, or information (both good and bad) that is replicated by humans primarily, to sell us on an idea or habit that will keep that meme alive and replicating.
I have learned the many ways I have to be a “man” in Western society. Starting with my parents educating me and the constant influx of advertising these “facts”.
March 1st, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Memes…..catchwords, phrases, those annoying paltitudes heard in childhood. “Patience is a virtue” , eeeruh!
But when it comes to repetition then conjugating verbs, declining nouns, etc. – pretty terrific!
and, well, ok, maybe patience is a virtue – sometimes.
February 28th, 2009 at 12:28 am
meme is WOM passing on …
SDNT CVS2BVS QRH PRR
February 27th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
a meme is a unit of culture that gets passed on from person to person. a surviving meme in my brain is the multiplication tables because i had to learn them by repetition
February 27th, 2009 at 8:55 am
A meme is an idea that could be passed to me by any “tool” and which could affect my brain ìn a way or another , it may also be a copy of another idea i got from interacting with other medias or humans etc…
A meme that could have been good at getting inside and surviving in my brain would be creativity and revolution …
February 27th, 2009 at 4:42 am
A meme is a replicator of culture in a darwinian view to culture.
Good meme: SDNT, cvs2bvs, QRH, PRR
Bad meme: Don’t criticize religions, it is a matter of respect for those who believe….
February 26th, 2009 at 8:48 am
A Meme is information that is copied…
Times tables is a meme that has survived in my brain for 50 years
February 25th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
a unit of culture that gets passed on from one person to another
loyalty belief in country in my case England
February 14th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
meme as a unit of culture which gets passed on from person to person. A meme is a replicator like a gene. Successful genes replicate from DNA to DNA and successful memes replicate from brain to brain via word-of-mouth (WOM).
wombat .. cvsx10bvs wombat into the pipelinewe go.. pto pto ..wombat wombat wombat
February 12th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
A meme is a contagious idea, thought, emotion, that moves on from one person to another and stimulates the next person to pass it on. You can also come to such an idea on your own and keep installing it in your own set of beleifs.
One that comes to mind for me personaly is “No one can make an idiot of me. That privilage is for me and me alone” This is something I kept saying to myself ever sinds I was a teenager and now find myself passing it on often to friends or clients in my practise.
February 11th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
A Meme is an intangible thing which gets passed from one person to another. The success of the meme is similar to the replication success of DNA.
The global financial crisis is a good example. It felt like a perennial gloom inside my brain (supported by continuous data points – similar memes feeding inwards) which has only recently worked its way out.
February 8th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Information, words, actions and beliefs that can be instilled and repeated to produce a similar outcome.
One meme that has stuck in my head recently is the affirmation “every day in every way I am getting better and better”. I recently used a version of it to teach my daughter to ride her bike. Every turn of the pedal she was getting better. Her confidence soared as she saw her own progress and how she really was getting better.
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:07 am
A meme is a the WOM that allows one customers brain to become infected by another brain.This is probably what we know as brainwashing and is clearly very effective from the results of the 2007 survey..
January 19th, 2009 at 11:27 am
A meme is anything that can be imitated, any information tat can be copied and it has no sense of ‘care’ for what consequences result, ‘good or bad’ as it is only a piece of information, but albeit a very powerful piece of information that uses replicating humans to ensure its survival.
A good meme at surviving in my brain is the meme of motherhood and what responsible, ‘good’ mothers should do for their children, life giving up for their offspring, nil devotion to one’s own thinking as the family comes first sort of thing. I am not a conventional mother and I suppose is why the meme has got well inside and continues to remind me of ‘good’ mothering; I try not to take notice of it and obviously I don’t that much as I continue to be a mother as I feel is intuitively right for me; however, it has obviously caused cognitive dissonance which in retrospect is humanistically harmful to me as a person; and in my notion of human kindness wrong to me as a persona and a meme; oops, I mean a mum!
January 18th, 2009 at 1:45 am
A meme is an idea or concept that spreads virally. The bst recent example I can think of would be the Apple ipod. In the space of a year or two, a music player was transformed from a simple small piece of electronics into a must-have accessory. It became the top valued holiday gift, and ultimate fashion accessory from kids to seniors. What transformed it was some sort of self-image meme that made people feel better, cooler, fun-er when they had this gadget.
January 14th, 2009 at 1:39 am
Your website and its message
January 12th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Given my background – strategic marketing, I view memorable memes as those of successful brands which when in the right context, I hear a particular sound, see a certain colour or hear or read a sentence or phrase (slogan) my brain immediately identifies with the product/service brand. The concept of repetition and consistency in branding is the essence of this process. Without sound rhetorical, I am sure we can all think of famous brands such as Nike and Just Do It, it’s Tick, Tiffany’s blue etc etc. But I would say the alarm clock has to be the most shocking meme in my life!! Unforgettable and as the uncanny ability to create a host of feelings on demand, even if it is accidental.
January 6th, 2009 at 4:57 am
A meme is an idea replicated through humans by imitation and word of mouth.
The idea of an omnipotent deity is a meme.Perhaps it is one of the original memes on this planet.
January 5th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
A meme is a replicator like a gene, establishing new brain patterns
cvs2bvs the meme that has been cultivated and is growing strong in my mind. I have achieved desirable results by this meme.
December 28th, 2008 at 6:35 am
A meme is a contagious idea replicated through organism interaction.
“Only the unprepared are defeated.” Sun Tzu.
This meme has always been beneficial for me.It doesn’t allow me to “sit” in my plans as I move in life.It has been my experience that overconfidence leads to a narrow,fixated,perspective.This meme provides an open ended result.Like cvs2bvs,it is the essence of liquid strategy.
December 23rd, 2008 at 5:54 pm
meme is like a gene that is genetically passed on ….
SDNT CVS2BVS QRN PRR is a good meme
December 9th, 2008 at 9:56 am
The only constant is change
November 19th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
One of strongest meme is practicing religions is something which has been the most successful meme on this planet. The meme of my family and my ancestor has been quite strong and now I see how it has gone inside my brain. It has been good for sometime but now one needs to change that. Constant change of meme is vital for surviving. Thank you
October 31st, 2008 at 2:27 am
A meme is a unit of culture which gets passed on from person to person.
The meme of family and marriage has been good in my life. It has kept me grounded and has brought me forward into seeing life from a whole different point of view.
October 26th, 2008 at 2:59 am
A ‘meme’ is any idea or thought process which has been passed from one person to another via word of mouth (written or spoken)
Many of our accepted manners are memes
The whole theory of finances is a meme which has infected the whole world.
October 20th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
a unit of culture or a replicator, which gets passed on from person to person. WOM
October 5th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
i think i need to buy one of the books !
October 4th, 2008 at 2:08 am
Memes are quite rude and arrive unannounced
Without permission, no knock on the head
No card, no invite, letter of intent
When asked to leave, they hide up your sleeve.
Perhaps they’re in the ether or the genes
To the day when we can choose our own memes !
Go to work on an egg
September 29th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Memes are a unit of culture which gets passed from one person to another.
One meme that has been passed from some one to me is poetry and the ability to ryhme with my writing.
September 26th, 2008 at 12:31 am
what we copy knowingly or unknownly to survive and we pass on to the future is a meme, however small it may be
September 23rd, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Thoughts become things…
September 10th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
The Detachment meme – I now enjoy what the world offers but remain detach from it and thus have no stress!
September 9th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
A meme is a replicator like a gene which gets passed on from person to person.. Successful genes replicate from people to people via DNA and successful memes replicate from brain to brain via word-of-mouth (WOM).
Some examples of meme that has been good at getting inside and surviving in my brain are …
‘Every adversity has in it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit’
‘With all my human values, all the riches are within my reach’
‘Thoughts I have in my mind are more important than the things I have in my life’
‘Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s things’
September 3rd, 2008 at 4:51 pm
meme – something that survives by a sense of repetition. One meme that has has inside my brain for years is the vegemite ditty!
September 2nd, 2008 at 12:26 am
I guess we’ve all had those negative memes that survive as long as we keep feeding them or until we overide them (drive them to extinction) with more positive ones. I found the CVS2BVS very helpful and fit to survive and spread.
August 28th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
To me a meme is an idea that can affect, positively or negatively, my every day life.
One meme that has really gotten into my head is CVS TO BVS.
Since I first took the 10X training (I have gone through the training more than once) this is the one meme that has stayed with me the longest and the strongest. I now almost automatically look for better ways of doing things in all aspects of my life.
August 26th, 2008 at 4:11 am
When Darwin wrote his theory, he knew THAT evolution works, but he did not know WHY. The latter was explained by the discovery of the DNA code. Dawkins took the case up where Darwin left it with the knowledge of DNA when he wrote “The selfish gene”. He is rightly considered the first true successor of Darwin and one of the four greatest intellectials alive today! You can believe what this man has to say!
August 18th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
A meme is an idea that may replicate itself when communicated (between people)
“Little hinges swing big doors”
August 18th, 2008 at 5:14 am
Meme is an idea that survives and uses you to cement itself and repeat itself in others.
‘Heaven and hell’. Superb advertising/meme work by religions, mystics & authorities. The great promises of reward and punishment. Control and compliance. Genius.
August 17th, 2008 at 7:33 am
A meme is a unit of culture which gets passed on from person to person. (Don’t ya just love copy and paste!)
A meme that has been with me for a few years came from a friend who was a memebr of Alcoholics Annonymous. This meme fits perfectly with this lesson as well. The meme which infected my brain is;
“Repetition strengthens and confirms.”
This has proven correct time and again in my life in both positive and negative examples.
August 16th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
A meme is a unit of culture that gets passed on from person to person.
Not to be deceitful is something that is inculcated in me from a young age – mind you a few strappings helped reinforced it!
August 16th, 2008 at 5:54 am
Memetics allows us to understand not only how people get ideas but, more importantly, how ideas acquire people or how minds become memed.
I was once a sales support person to a top gun print sales rep.
His relenless drive to encourage quality in every facet of manufacting a clients product in/affected everyone from the factory floor to the General Manager. I often look within myself for those same qualities to improve my life while trying to remain merely mortal.
August 15th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
A meme is a unit of culture which gets passed on from person to person.
CVSTOBVS has survived in my brain for 15 years. I use it to escape from a mental rut or to find a better solution, eg. by asking others, or listing 10 ideas, facts, factors, etc, about a problem or situation.
August 15th, 2008 at 12:53 am
A meme is anything that spreads by imitation from brain to brain.
Dawkin’s “meme” is an example of a meme that has been good at getting inside and surviving in my brain.
August 14th, 2008 at 11:48 am
A Meme is a unit of culture which gets passed on from person to person. A meme is a replicator like a gene.
My personal meme is that there is a man god in control of the universe. This meme was installed into my brain while attending 8 years of parochial school. It has taken years of reprogramming to get past this assumption of absolute truth. It no longer is the truth for me. It still sneaks in every so often, but at the least I consciously challenge it and send it packing.
August 14th, 2008 at 9:40 am
1.- A meme is a unit of culture which gets passed on from person to person. It has to have meaning to the “infected” host.
2.- The idea that Education is the main factor for personal progress in life, is one of the main memes in my mind….
August 13th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
What determines fitness in a meme? In biological evolution it is to do with adaptability to the environment – genes are replicated if their “host” survives and reproduces.
But with memes it is harder to see the mechanism. From the examples below there is great variety of memes – is it simply a factor of how many times it is repeated? Would any lame advertising slogan or jingle become a meme if it is repeated enough or are there other elements required as well?
Food for thought.
“The map is not the territory” is a meme that constantly reminds me that our attempts to represent reality can never be reality.
August 13th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
It is replication of ideas through speech from individual to individual.
What goes around, comes around. If you give to life, it will give back to you at some future date.
August 13th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
meme is an idea that replicates itself by taking hold of the brain and passes through people like an infection.
law of attraction,law of intent and law of allowance. this are my current memes.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:40 am
a replicator
small boatbuilding. I really love reading about it and building small boats out of wood.
August 13th, 2008 at 8:23 am
One definition is “A meme is a replicator” like a virus that spreads from infected person to infect another, who infects another, etc (i.e. WOM)… A meme helpful to me is “Be Do Have”.
August 13th, 2008 at 3:53 am
WOM is the meme that gets itself passed on from one customer to another.
Some one talks about a book and that lead me to buy it and it was a great book since then I have read over 10 books from the same writer.
August 12th, 2008 at 9:50 am
A meme is like the DNA of culture. It replicates and spreads a wide range of things – habits, ideas and world views etc.
The exercise meme has been good at getting inside and surviving in my brain. It has been built up through repetition and habit. Surviving some bumps in the road and diversions but always keeping me focused on fitness.
August 12th, 2008 at 9:42 am
cvstobvs
This has been good at getting inside my brain and helps me keep looking for ways of improvement ultimately keeping me from getting stuck in a rut…
August 12th, 2008 at 5:59 am
a meme is that something which is stuck when we pass it to another. the best example of a surviving meme in my brain is 2+2=4,1+1=2 because i learnt these things through repetition.
August 11th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Spreading of information through human being.
Display of Tata Nano in Auto show is an example for meme. More people are waiting to see its launch.
August 11th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
A meme is defined as a unit of culture. Memes are spread from person to person. Strong memes gain wide recognition, for instance, logos such as the Coca-Cola logo. Weak memes die out.
A meme that’s stuck with me is telling jokes. Abstract concept of course, but it worked. People tell me jokes, I tell other people jokes. Of course, they’re not always funny, but that’s not the point. Laughter is a social tool.
August 11th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
“Beam me up, Scotty.” “Use the Force, Luke.” “Welcome to the Matrix.” “Our last, best hope . . .” “Don’t mess with Mother Nature.” “Things go better with Coke.” “I don’t wanna grow up, I’m a Toy’R'Us Kid.” Memes pop up everywhere. They’re catchphrases, shorthand for more complex things, and popular delusions.
August 11th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
A meme is a clever brain child, original or altered work that is desired (whether the originator uses it or not) and passed onto to an individual.
What is the desire of Pet Rocks? Anyone that is cool this week has one!
What is the desire of tattoos? Commitment and acceptance by a certain group.
What is the desire for acceptance into certain groups? Arts and culture, universities, churches, sports, etc.
August 11th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Meme is a unit of culture which passes from person to brain, such as music, good ideas , good poems, anything that spreads by imatation.
Example: music, and poetry!
August 8th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Hole in the Wall – The wacky Japanese TV show now in Australia scored 1.5 million viewers on its first screening. This meme must possess some hypnotic qualities as I struggle to understand its broad appeal. The meme could be the shows concept, the involvement of ‘celebrities’ or the synergy from the combination. This might be a short firing, temporarily high impact meme rather than enduring.