Please distribute...
You are hereby invited to our eighth "Evolution, Complexity and
Cognition (ECCO)" seminar of 2005:
Operationalization of Meme
Selection Criteria:
Methodologies to Empirically
Test Memetic Predictions
by
Klaas Chielens
(ECCO, VUB)
Place: room 3C204 (building C, 3rd floor), VUB campus
Oefenplein
Time: Friday, March 25, at 17:30 h.
Abstract:
This paper reviews a number of recent approaches to put memetics
to the test of quantitative measurability. The focus is on the
selection criteria for the spreading of memes put forward by
Heylighen (1997), which include utility, novelty, simplicity,
coherence, authority and proselytism. The general hypothesis is that
memes scoring higher on these criteria will survive longer and be
more prevalent than others. This can be tested by checking which
story elements best survive a chain of person-to-person transmissions
("Chinese whispers" game), by simulating the cognitive and
social processes that determine this differential survival and
spread, and by correlating the score on the selection criteria with
the actual frequency with which a meme is encountered. In a pilot
study using an Internet survey, this method was applied specifically
to virus hoaxes, which can be seen as paradigmatic examples of
clearly delimited, self-reproducing messages.
ECCO seminar
programme coming weeks
- Laetitia De Jaegher: The need for new systems of governance in a complex, changing society
- Nathalie Gontier: A systems/symbiotic view of evolution
- Nick Deschacht: Complexity Theory and Marxism
- Tanguy Coenen : The influence of social
software and knowledge sharing on creativity
- Julien Libbrech: Application of cybernetic principles to the organization of health care
ECCO seminars normally take place each Friday at 17h30 in room
3C204 of the VUB Campus Etterbeek. Everyone interested is welcome,
although the largest group of attendants are usually ECCO
researchers. The seminars are very interactive, with small groups
(about 8-10 people). The intention is to discuss in depth the
research being proposed, and to look for interdisciplinary
connections with other ECCO-related themes. Seminars last about two
hours, after which the remaining participants go to take a drink or a
snack in the Opinio Café on the campus, to continue the discussion
in a more relaxed setting.
--
Francis Heylighen
Evolution, Complexity and Cognition group
Free University of Brussels
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html
Francis Heylighen
Evolution, Complexity and Cognition group
Free University of Brussels
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html
--
Francis Heylighen
Evolution, Complexity and Cognition group
Free University of Brussels
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html
Francis Heylighen
Evolution, Complexity and Cognition group
Free University of Brussels
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html
