Oscar Jr. Was Here

Meme Must Die

Like me, Frank J. of IMAO hates the word "meme." I've never before used the word myself, and I cringe when an otherwise good writer feels the need to do so. Call me old-fashioned (if that's the best you can do), but I'll stick with more syllabic phrases like "clever concept" or "what the kids are talking about."

What's wrong with this word?

1. People who are enthusiastic about "memes" write things like this:

Abstract:

The dictionary definition, and Dawkins's (1976) original conception of the meme, both include the idea that memes are copied from one person to another by imitation. We therefore need to be clear what is meant by imitation. Imitation is distinguished from contagion, individual learning and various kinds of non-imitative social learning such as stimulus enhancement, local enhancement and goal emulation. True imitation is extremely rare in animals other than humans, except for birdsong and dolphin vocalisation, suggesting that they can have few or no memes. I argue that more complex human cognitive processes, such as language, reading, scientific research and so on, all build in some way on the ability to imitate, and therefore all these processes are, or can be, memetic. When we are clear about the nature of imitation, it is obvious what does and does not count as a meme. I suggest that we stick to defining the meme as that which is passed on by imitation.

Please shoot me! Or

2. It reminds us of the absence of Axis-of-Layne member a. beam. Or

3. It's also a French word:

France isn't so popular these days, especially not with Frank J.

Stupid and ugly word, it is. Let's ask Rumsfeld to get rid of it!

Posted by oscarjr at February 1, 2003 12:31 AM | TrackBack