Meme's

[Simon Pettersson]

Hi Everyone,
Just wondering how many Meme's we can think of because i've only recently been introduced to this concept.
So tell me what are the Meme's of the world?

GHhgghnn this gets me angry.
"Meme" is a term coined by Richard Dawkins to describe ideas that behave like viruses. It doesn't mean "internet jokes". Essentially, memetics is a theory of socio-cultural evolution where "memes" (ideologies, religions, fads, tastes, etc.) are the equivalent of "genes", but instead of nucleic acids, they use human interactions to transmit information. Essentially, we don't think - we just transmit thought viruses the same way a cough transmits a flu virus. It's a controversial theory, but it explains certain subconscious human tendencies.

An internet meme merely uses the internet to copy itself from mind to mind MUCH more rapidly. The process is completely irrational and unconscious, yet the idea spreads "virally" because it's designed like that, to be repeated over and over outside of context.

So, now that we know that, we can start using the proper terminology. >_>

cool story bro...

T___T I guess it looks preachy like this. Sorry.

But memetics is rather handy! Ever wonder why "Charlie bit my finger!" got a bajillion views? Who started it, how it spread, where it became a hit? Studying such transmission vectors has quite a lot in common with epidemiology. Then again, what is a virus if not a natural USB stick? A piece of information (in a protein shell)?

It is essentially Gossip then? But over the internets.

OT: I like "sup dogg"

 

[blackguard89]

Hmmm let's see now:
-Longcat
-Factcat
-Ceiling Cat
-Trolling(At least I think it can be called a meme)
-the endless url's on 4chan, that redirect you to countless sites, causing panic amongst the readers there
-Zippocat
-P**obear.....and friends.

Actually go to enciclopedia dramatica they have a full compendium on those ))

 

[BGH122]

Oh, you mean one that already exists? Pedobear. He's absolutely fucking creepy, but he won't seem to die. :S

I take objection to that, I'm not creepy. As to why I won't die? I steal young people's life essences.

OP: The one that arguably started [http://www.yourethemannowdog.com/] the modern generation of internet memes.

Just so you know, this thread is kinda modbait. They've expressed their distaste for memes a number of times.

 

[Seneschal]

It is essentially Gossip then? But over the internets.

OT: I like "sup dogg"

Well, gossip is a particularly virulent type of meme; it spreads fast, it's hard to ascertain its nature, hard to track down the source, hard to control the content and how it mutates... all stuff you'd normally pin to a virus. It's also short lived and doesn't survive scrutiny.

The best types of memes have several important traits: they self-perpetuate, self-justify and self-conserve. Religion is an almost perfect meme - it presents itself as a compelling and all-encompassing explanation to all questions, gives you plenty of reasons to believe it, spreads very rapidly and consistently, makes you reject beliefs that contradict it, justifies itself by being the unmistakeable word from an all-powerful entity, has a low mutation rate because of "holy books" that can't be misinterpreted because they come from above, and every doubt in its veracity traps you in the circular logic of "it's just a test of faith, you must renounce your doubts to prove your worth".

Now, this doesn't deal with whether there are gods or not, it merely describes the method in which humans spread the socio-cultural institution known as religion. And it's a damn good one, thousands of times more enduring and stable than any internet-borne joke (which are usually classified under "old meme" in about 6 months).

But a lot of other things can be described in memetic terms: how easy it is to remember slogans and jingles, how certain images in advertising stick to your mind more than others, how some arbitrary aesthetic trends and fads spread and grow, yet others don't, etc.

 

[TehCookie]

I'm 12 and what is this?

Spoiler: Also PUDDI!