>> This situation, in which a word is coined and defined, and then
>>people see
>>things they didn't notice before, can imply that the act of creating and
>>defining words leads to creating and defining reality.
>
>Which they don't (and I know you're leading up to this, David). This
>process
>leads to re-defining each individual's /interpretation/ of reality.
>Quite
>a horse-of-a-different-color entirely, but I notice that some don't
>make that
>subtle but critical distinction.
I think you're setting up a straw man. Anyone on the list disagree with
this?
>
>The meme "I can shoot myself in the head with physiological impunity"
>would
>quickly find its environmental resources (ie: the memesphere made up by
>people
>with the neurological predisposition to accept that meme) quickly
>shrink,
>slating that meme for extinction, because memes operate within the
>framework
>of objective reality, regardless of the particular /interpretation/ of
>reality
>that the guy with the bullet in his head may have had.
Actually, research shows that publicized suicides CAUSE more suicides.
So even those deadly memes spread.
>
>As with /all/ emergent phenomenon, memes are, in the end, /completely/
>dependant
>on the heirarchies of systems preceeding them, from cognition, through
>neural
>systems, down through self-replicating cell chemistry, to sub-atomic
>processes
>and, ultimately, the very nature of objective reality from which the
>fabric of
>our existence is manifest. A meme's efficacy (its ability to survive in
>a host
>or propagate) will therefore correlate with objective reality; it can
>never be
>independant of it.
I think (a) I agree with this description and (b) it doesn't say
anything useful.
>
>I can't see myself contributing further to this thread. Unless someone
>has a rebuttal that isn't logically inconsistent, a counter-proof that
>isn't self-referential, self refuting or semantically imprecise, then
>I'd love to see it die an ignoble death :-)
A rebuttal of WHAT? You guys are saying you have some definitions of
existence, consciousness, and reality that are irrefutable and
self-evident. Well isn't that nice. And excuse me if I get on with my
life and ignore your little cult of consistency. Consistency has gotten
me into more trouble...
>
>Richard Brodie RBrodie@brodietech.com +1.206.688.8600
>CEO, Brodie Technology Group, Inc., Bellevue, WA USA
>http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie
>Do you know what a "meme" is?
>http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/meme.htm
>