Psychologist/memeticist Susan Blackmore proposes that there's a new layer of "selfish", evolving replicators in the making: just like cognitive replicators (memes) came into existence at some point during genetic evolution, relying on the genetic layer for their continued existence/replication but also controlling it to a certain degree, now 'temes' (technological replicators) are emerging as a product of genetic-memetic evolution, to rely on both genes and memes for their survival/replication, while becoming more and more able to also exert control over both these layers.
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by Andres, on June 03 2008:
Another great contribution. I really liked this talk, Donjoe. Thank you!
by John_, on June 06 2008:
She doesn’t really expound on the fact that humans have the power to choose. I think memetics and temes have potential. You can’t deny their existence but is it only that? Sure, my middle finger is a meme. But there is mechanics behind it. And those mechanics have a lot of regression and experiential validity verses a meme/teme which is hosted, a parasitic or supra-substrative collective thought, which once embodied becomes a commodity…
John
by Donjoe, on June 07 2008:
"She doesn’t really expound on the fact that humans have the power to choose."
There's no need to. Whatever choices we make, they still act as the selection step in the evolution of memes, and that evolution still continues. And insofar as we're all products of very similar genetic codes plus education (thus, memetic feedback), memetic evolution/selection will continue to have a certain coherence above/beyond our ability to "choose" (that's probably what she means when she says we only think we're choosing, but the memes are actually driving us). But while current temes may seem to be just the same - memes that got implemented as gadgets with some limited and completely pre-determined functions - there may come a time when these, unlike memes, become able to replicate without any help whatsoever from humans, thus separating themselves from the genetic/memetic evolution that spawned them. In fact, such temes may be closer than we like to think: http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=5935.php
by Andres, on August 02 2009:
Fast-forward to 2009:
Susan blackmore recently wrote an article on the third replicator, for the New Scientist magazine. In it she is requesting help in finding a name for this third replicator, what she called "teme". There are various entries, feel free to contribute.
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