The smiley is an example of a visual meme. Once seen, you are likely to copy it, reproduce it and show it to others.A meme (rhymes with "dream", but comes from memetic and memory) is a unit of information that replicates from brains or retention systems, such as books, to other brains or retention systems. In more specific terms, a meme is a self-propagating unit of cultural evolution, analogous to the gene (the unit of genetics). The term was coined in 1976 by Richard Dawkins in his controversial bestselling book The Selfish Gene. Memes can represent parts of ideas, languages, tunes, designs, skills, moral and aesthetic values and anything else that is commonly learned and passed on to others as a unit. The study of evolutionary models of information transfer is called memetics.
Memetic and genetic evolution cannot happen without mutation. Mutation produces the essential variations, of which the better at replicating, by definition, become more common and have a greater chance of replicating again. Unlike genetic evolution however, memetic evolution has no separate underlying genotypeThe genotype is the specific genetic makeup (the specific genome) of an individual, usually in the form of DNA. It codes for the phenotype of that individual. Typically, one refers to an individual's genotype with regard to a particular gene of interest a. If a mouse loses its tail or a bodybuilder lifts weights, for example, the DNA information in their genotypeThe genotype is the specific genetic makeup (the specific genome) of an individual, usually in the form of DNA. It codes for the phenotype of that individual. Typically, one refers to an individual's genotype with regard to a particular gene of interest a will remain unchanged, and when replicating again will not pass on these acquired characteristics. In memetics however, the phenotypeThe phenotype of an individual organism is either its total physical appearance and constitution, or a specific manifestation of a trait, such as size or eye color, that varies between individuals. Phenotype is determined to some extent by genotype, or by serves as the genotype and therefore changes in the former accumulate and get passed on as they replicate. Therefore memetics is said to be Lamarckian, which is somewhat ironic given that a great deal of effort and debate have gone into proving that genetic evolution isn't. It is probable that mutation directed language to culturally evolve from a handful of primitive syllables into the modern wide array of dialects, let alone the wide array of symbolic meaning within individual dialects. Further mutations of language are writing, braille, sign language, etc. Even the oft-cited All your base are belong to usZero Wing All your base are belong to us (sometimes abbreviated AYBABTU or simply AYB is a phrase that sparked an Internet phenomenon that occurred in 2001 and 2002. The phenomenon initially took the form of the sentence appearing on website message board meme produced variations such as "all your vote are belong to us". Other lines in the originating videogame's dialogue such as "Someone set up us the bomb" were also replicated on the Internet, but with less success. Search engineGoogle search engine was mainly due to its powerful Pagerank algorithm and its simple, easy-to-use interface. A search engine is a program designed to help find files stored on a computer, for example a public server on the World Wide Web, or one's own cos can be used as an imperfect measure of the popularity of various memetic phrases.
In casual use, the term meme is sometimes used to mean any piece of information passed from one mind to another. This is much closer to the analogy of "language as a virus" than it is to Dawkins's analogy of memes as replicating behaviors. Memes on the internet tend to proliferate for periods of time then quietly die off, and many start as obscure running jokesThe running gag is a popular hallmark of comedy television shows and movies. A running gag is an amusing situation or line that constantly reappears through the course of a movie or television series. Frequently, the humor in a running gag derives entirel within net cliques which gradually lose their original meaning or otherwise become detached. Some people consider absurdist humor to be a good source of memes.
- "The key to every man is his thought. Sturdy and defying though he look, he has a helm which he obeys, which is the idea after which all his facts are classified. He can only be reformed by showing him a new idea which commands his own."
- — Ralph Waldo Emerson
See Memetic lexicon for an overview of words used in memetics.
