I wrote a book on memetics last year. There’s an associated web site. There’s various material online, including a FAQ, my references, and a memetics timeline, illustrating the history of the idea—and a blog. Chapter 3 in the book covers the evidence for the idea. The nearest similar free online resource I am aware of is:
There’s a lot of confusion about cultural evolution and universal Darwinism—but the basics are fairly simple—and there are plenty of books and resources available to help these days.
It’s true that there are some meme synonyms. However, “meme” is by far the most popular.
“Idea” is not really a meme synonym. Ideas are not necessarily socially transmitted. The concept bundles individual learning and social learning together. Memes, by most conventional definitions, are to do with social learning. It is socially learned ideas that are most likely to result in open-ended adaptive evolution—since they have potentially large lifespans.
I wrote a book on memetics last year. There’s an associated web site. There’s various material online, including a FAQ, my references, and a memetics timeline, illustrating the history of the idea—and a blog. Chapter 3 in the book covers the evidence for the idea. The nearest similar free online resource I am aware of is:
Mesoudi, Alex, Whiten, Andrew and Laland, Kevin N. (2004) Perspective: is human cultural evolution Darwinian? Evidence reviewed from the perspective of the Origin of Species.
There’s a lot of confusion about cultural evolution and universal Darwinism—but the basics are fairly simple—and there are plenty of books and resources available to help these days.
It’s true that there are some meme synonyms. However, “meme” is by far the most popular.
How about “idea”?
“Idea” is not really a meme synonym. Ideas are not necessarily socially transmitted. The concept bundles individual learning and social learning together. Memes, by most conventional definitions, are to do with social learning. It is socially learned ideas that are most likely to result in open-ended adaptive evolution—since they have potentially large lifespans.
Why don’t you publish an ebook version?
The reason is here.