17 lines
977 B
Plaintext
17 lines
977 B
Plaintext
meme
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/meem/ , n. [coined by analogy with gene , by Richard Dawkins] An idea
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considered as a replicator , esp. with the connotation that memes parasitize
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people into propagating them much as viruses do. Used esp. in the phrase
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meme complex denoting a group of mutually supporting memes that form an
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organized belief system, such as a religion. This lexicon is an
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(epidemiological) vector of the hacker subculture meme complex; each entry
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might be considered a meme. However, meme is often misused to mean meme
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complex. Use of the term connotes acceptance of the idea that in humans (and
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presumably other tool- and language-using sophonts) cultural evolution by
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selection of adaptive ideas has superseded biological evolution by selection
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of hereditary traits.
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Memes have featured extensively within popular culture, used both for
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political satire and just plain amusement. The typical meme is a photo
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together with one or two captions at the top and bottom in ALLCAPS letters. |