MemeOriginally Posted by Norm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Meme (disambiguation).
A meme (/?mi?m/; meem)[1] is "an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."[2] A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols, or practices that can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena. Supporters of the concept regard memes as cultural analogues to genes in that they self-replicate, mutate, and respond to selective pressures.[3]
The word meme is a shortening (modeled on gene) of mimeme (from Ancient Greek ?????? Greek pronunciation: [mí?m??ma] m?m?ma, "imitated thing", from ????????? mimeisthai, "to imitate", from ????? mimos "mime")[4] and it was coined by the British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene (1976)[1][5] as a concept for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena. Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, fashion, and the technology of building arches.
dawks777.jpg
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks