The Selfish Meme: A Critical Reassessment

Product Information

Memes tap into collective consciousness online and have been referred to as digital folklore – or "Netlore". "We can see not just the new ways people do things or the new ways people express themselves in public but also some of the themes, some of the anxieties or desires people have. All of these complex issues are reflected in things like memes," says Gerbaudo. Dawkins initially defined meme as a noun that "conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation". [21] John S. Wilkins retained the notion of meme as a kernel of cultural imitation while emphasizing the meme's evolutionary aspect, defining the meme as "the least unit of sociocultural information relative to a selection process that has favorable or unfavorable selection bias that exceeds its endogenous tendency to change". [41] The meme as a unit provides a convenient means of discussing "a piece of thought copied from person to person", regardless of whether that thought contains others inside it, or forms part of a larger meme. A meme could consist of a single word, or a meme could consist of the entire speech in which that word first occurred. This forms an analogy to the idea of a gene as a single unit of self-replicating information found on the self-replicating chromosome. Once you’ve accepted these things about them, you won’t negatively react when they act selfish. Because they will act selfish. Setting an Example: By setting an example with our own behavior, we can inspire others to do the same and show how beneficial it can be not just for ourselves but for everyone around us as well. In his book The Robot's Rebellion, Keith Stanovich uses the memes and memeplex concepts to describe a program of cognitive reform that he refers to as a "rebellion". Specifically, Stanovich argues that the use of memes as a descriptor for cultural units is beneficial because it serves to emphasize transmission and acquisition properties that parallel the study of epidemiology. These properties make salient the sometimes parasitic nature of acquired memes, and as a result individuals should be motivated to reflectively acquire memes using what he calls a " Neurathian bootstrap" process. [65] Memetic explanations of racism

Have any stood out for you recently? They go straight out of my mind I'm afraid. There are things like "hope you get cancer" and "we'll enjoy laughing at you frying in hell" and that kind of thing. One popular meme involves a person’s face photoshopped onto the body of a wealthy celebrity or other famous individual. The text usually reads something like “When I tell people I’m rich.” This meme serves as an excellent reminder that it’s important not to take yourself too seriously–especially when you’re bragging about your wealth or accomplishments. If you are dealing with the same situation, don’t stress out yourself. Post a fake friends meme on your social media and have them wondering. Then, forget about it! Get yourself a drink, do something fun, and focus on your real friends.

3. Well, sometimes, Durex might get it wrong. Sorry!

In 2013, Dawkins characterized an Internet meme as one deliberately altered by human creativity, distinguished from his original idea involving mutation "by random change and a form of Darwinian selection". [74] They do not realize that everyone has weaknesses, even them. These weaknesses are what make us human but for them, they are above all else so they are close to being perfect. 8) Selfish people don’t accept constructive criticism Below, we’re sharing with you a really amusing rude meme collection that’ll take your mind off of those people getting on your nerves. They’re pretty hilarious and who knows? They just might brighten up your day! Do you have any of them? Increased Happiness: When we put others first, we tend to feel more fulfilled and happier in life. We have the satisfaction of knowing that we have done something for someone else’s benefit, which can bring us joy. This feeling is amplified when our efforts are appreciated by the person we have helped.

For example, if you open up your emotions to them, they may try to manipulate you to get what they want or make you feel guilty.Selfish people rarely apologize because they don’t think that what they did was wrong or that their actions had any consequences for other people. If someone calls them out on their behavior, a selfish person might get defensive instead of accepting responsibility and apologizing. Benefits of Not Being Selfish Shifman's definition of memes, now widely used in the field, describes them as "a group of texts with shared characteristics, with a shared core of content, form, and stance". Broadly, "content" refers to ideas and ideologies, while "form" to our sensory experiences such as audio or visual, and "stance" to the tone or style, structures for participation, and communicative functions of the meme. Dawkins cites as inspiration the work of geneticist L. L. Cavalli-Sforza, anthropologist F. T. Cloak, [27] [28] and ethologist J. M. Cullen. [29] Dawkins wrote that evolution depended not on the particular chemical basis of genetics, but only on the existence of a self-replicating unit of transmission—in the case of biological evolution, the gene. For Dawkins, the meme exemplified another self-replicating unit with potential significance in explaining human behavior and cultural evolution. Memes can replicate vertically or horizontally within a single biological generation. They may also lie dormant for long periods of time.

Feeling Fulfilled: When we act selflessly for the benefit of others, it gives us a sense of purpose and fulfillment in life. Knowing that we have made a difference in someone else’s life is one of the most rewarding feelings there is. They believe they are better than other people, and usually, the variables that are self-enhanced are related to “power and status.” 12) Selfish people exaggerate their achievements

10. Nature insults? I didn’t know that. I thought nature was fair. Hahaha!

As an example, John D. Gottsch discusses the transmission, mutation and selection of religious memeplexes and the theistic memes contained. [50] Theistic memes discussed include the "prohibition of aberrant sexual practices such as incest, adultery, homosexuality, bestiality, castration, and religious prostitution", which may have increased vertical transmission of the parent religious memeplex. Similar memes are thereby included in the majority of religious memeplexes, and harden over time; they become an "inviolable canon" or set of dogmas, eventually finding their way into secular law. This could also be referred to as the propagation of a taboo.

My son is so ungrateful I bought him a peanut butter chocolate chip cake for his birthday. He just grabbed his EpiPen and complained to me about it; selfish brat! Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist, coined the term "meme" in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, likening discrete bits of human culture that propagate between people to genes. Dawkins shortened the ancient Greek word "mimeme" – with an apology to his classicist colleagues – to meme, to rhyme with "cream". He suggested that memes were melodies, ideas, catchphrases or bits of information that leap from brain to brain through imitation, expediting their transmission. Hey girl, are you the Bible? 'Cause men keep misinterpreting what you say to support their own selfish agendas. So, instead of taking them seriously, why not look at the bright side of things and just laugh it off? For instance, the possibility that ideas were subject to the same pressures of evolution as were biological attributes was discussed in the time of Charles Darwin. T. H. Huxley (1880) claimed that "The struggle for existence holds as much in the intellectual as in the physical world. A theory is a species of thinking, and its right to exist is coextensive with its power of resisting extinction by its rivals." [25]differential "fitness", or the opportunity for one element to be more or less suited to the environment than another. But on their journey towards finding their happiness, they carelessly and intentionally walk over people. The term meme is a shortening (modeled on gene) of mimeme, which comes from Ancient Greek mīmēma ( μίμημα; pronounced [míːmɛːma]), meaning 'imitated thing', itself from mimeisthai ( μιμεῖσθαι, 'to imitate'), from mimos ( μῖμος, 'mime'). [17] [18] [19] This format of communication is here to stay because it's a very stable way of expressing your individuality and your communality," says Shifman. Gerbaudo notes that memes are already evolving – branching out more into video sharing. "TikTok videos are memetic in character," he says. "They respond to challenges, which have a certain format, where people need to kind of play with a given, pre-established set of interactions."