Science works with imprecise terms all the time, terms which various
groups define slightly differently, /especially/ in the soft sciences.
The difference is that they've argued enough that they agree to disagree
about it and we haven't tired of the argument yet.
> I actually woke up this morning with a kernel of a scintilla of an idea
> about what a meme may actually be, all to do with the actual
> electro-chemical formation of memory, a new and recently augmented
> neurobiochemical study, and fascinating.
It'd be nice if you generalized it beyond neurochemical capability,
however. We can concieve of applying meme-analysis to non-human and
non-organic intelligences as well.
Now, maybe you should look into infomation-theoretic analysis of
processes and consciousness and apply the terminology to that level, as
defined seperately from whatever physical matrix gives rise to it.
> the memory process of a brain, and more specifically within the conscious
> memory functions, is the way to go.
This certainly /feels/ right, no matter what the matrix of consciousness
underlying is. You can't really have memes without active memory.
> Yes, this means I think there are no memes in dreams.
>
> Is that a heresy?
Depends on how you define dreaming. I've had memes occur when
considering the dreams I had the night before (or immediately
preceeding). Saying dreams /themselves/ don't contain memes is no more
heretical than saying that no /perception/ carries memes, which you've
already bought into by supporting the Zanderian Heresy. :)
--
Alexander Williams {thantos@alf.dec.com / zander@photobooks.com}
Prefect of the 8,000,000th Terran Overlord Government Experimental
Strike Legion, Primary Transport TOG "Bellatores Inquieti"
======================================================================
You ride in 250 tons of molecularly aligned crystalline titanium
wedded to a ceramic ablative matrix. You carry a 200mm Gauss
cannon, two massive 10-gigawatt lasers, two SMLM fire-and-forget
missiles, a Vulcan IV point defense anti-missile system, and a
deadly assortment of other equally lethal weapons.
Your vehicle is the ultimate product of 4,000 years of armored
warfare.
Your life expectancy is less than two minutes.
-- RENEGADE LEGION:
CENTURION