[Platt quoting Wolfe] A neurophysiologist can use the most powerful and sophisticated brain imagining now available - and still not find a meme.
[Arlo] Why would anyone expect to find a social level pattern on the biological level? Seems to me this quote represents the extreme SOM Pirsig rejected, namely if you can't see it under a microscope it's just in your head and doesn't exist. I'm not a Dawkins expert, I've never read any of his books, but it seems he gives plenty examples of memes on the Wikipedia page, chucked sets of words conveying specific and metaphorical meaning. We can (and some socio-linguists have done) trace the spread of a phrase from a place of origin to its becoming a common phrase in the standard lexicon. As Dawkins proposes that language carries with it not only specific "referent" but also metaphoric meaning, meaning-by-omission, and normative reinforcement, his idea that the social level grows and ages in a way analogous to the biological level has merit. Pirsig himself uses the same analogy when he refers to "the cultural immune system". You won't find this under a microscope either, Platt. So I guess that means you're rejecting Pirsig as delusional now as well? Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
