MEM'S THEORY: A MODEL FOR IMMITATION / תורת הממים: מודל לחיקוי

The term meme appeared in Dawkin's book The selfish gene. This is a unit of culture which is transferred from one mind to another by imitation. The gene is an entity that cares only for itself, and so is the meme. While the gene is a replicator that is transferred. From one generation to the next, the meme is a second replicator that is transferred from one individual to another by imitation and from one generation to the next by education. The term meme is pronounced mi:m and relates to the Greek word which means "something imitated" The topics covered in this book are: Meme-Gene interaction. Co-evolution: There is a dynamics in which the successful meme dictate which gene will be successful ones. This, in turn, support the propagation of the same successful memes. The origin of language, Altruism, and Religion as a memplex: Mimetic enables us to understand how and why religions have achieved such might. In addition the book covers topics like the ultimate memplex-the ego, sex in modern age, The new age memes and the internet. Criticism of the theory: The basic unit is lacking substance and not well defined. The liability of the imitation is generally poor. To date, no crucial experiments have been conducted to show the theory's validity. Cultural domains not covered by the theory: Mimetic limits itself to social learning. But Psychology abounds in other methods of acquiring knowledge. These are Classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and cognitive learning. Gambling is a widespread addiction that is better explained by the intermittent reinforcement method. In science there are procedures for publishing ideas in scientific journals. Finally, mimetic is antithesis of creativity. Obviously creativity is not copying. Therefore, all the acts of scientific invention, technological invention, poetry, literature, and other cultural endeavors are not memes.