The Meme Weavers' Terms of Reference

A quick search in the habitually useful dictonary will reveal this entry for the theme of our blog:

meme

/meem/ [By analogy with "gene"]

Richard Dawkins's term for an idea considered as a replicator, especially with the connotation that memes parasitise people into propagating them much as viruses do. Memes can be considered the unit of cultural evolution. Ideas can evolve in a way analogous to biological evolution. Some ideas survive better than others; ideas can mutate through, for example, misunderstandings; and two ideas can recombine to produce a new idea involving elements of each parent idea.

The term is used especially in the phrase "meme complex" denoting a group of mutually supporting memes that form an organised belief system, such as a religion. However, "meme" is often misused to mean "meme complex". Use of the term connotes acceptance of the idea that in humans (and presumably other tool- and language-using sophonts) cultural evolution by selection of adaptive ideas has become more important than biological evolution by selection of hereditary traits. Hackers find this idea congenial for tolerably obvious reasons.

Now, dear Jonno,

Would you say that, by weaving memes in this very random tapestry of ours that is to take arbitrary shape over the next while, we are attempting a meme complex?

And is it our expectation that our memes will parasitically attach themselves to each other and also to the minds of our readers, propagating and mutating like viruses, a global epidemic being the ultimate aim?

Or ... are we just going to write about whatever lends itself to conversation, presenting our miscellaneous musings in the guise of memes?

Hmmm ...

I await your response as the other half of the memeweaving dyad, for right now I expect you are busy laying paths in your garden and watching things grow ...