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Re: [ontolog-forum] Dennett on the Darwinism of Memes

To: jmcclure@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: "[ontolog-forum]" <ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: Pat Hayes <phayes@xxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:00:12 -0700
Message-id: <F33A5C90-CE07-4A4B-9C78-C853123FF864@xxxxxxx>

On Apr 10, 2013, at 11:47 AM, jmcclure@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:    (01)

> Hi - It might help some of us if a "model" was being proposed, one organized 
>by someone's notion of 'meme' I suppose. You know, I've proposed a concrete 
>model based on time-worn elements of a story, projected as the basis for 
>modelling topics, fundamental units of wikis, but surprisingly there was zero 
>reaction. I dunno, maybe I got off at the wrong stop!    (02)

I think it may have been the wrong floor, way too high for most of us :-).    (03)

Pat    (04)

> 
> -john
> 
>  
> On 10.04.2013 11:07, Pavithra wrote:
> 
>> Dr. Hayes
>> 
>> Based on wikipedia definition of meme,  it can be modeled as  a concept.   
>It is a social concept. 
>> 
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme
>> 
>> 
>> You can call all “words” as “things”.  And all things as words at your 
>discretion.  But defies the English language, & meaning of the word "thing" 
>and how it is described in wikipedia. 
>> Wikipedia has documented meaning of the word "word" and "thing" as follows.
>> 
>>    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thing 
>>  
>>    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word
>> 
>> Using definitions of those two words, I can not derive that all words are 
>things in a logical manner.   However I can say that nouns are things. 
>> 
>> But am not the authority on wikepedia or English language.  So it is at your 
>discretion, ( In other words, you are the adviser).  However,   In traditional 
>modeling, for example relational and Object Oriented world such assumptions 
>leads to many to many relationships and causes infinite loops in programming.  
>> 
>> Who is "us" ??  Us is Ontolog group and OWL, UML modelers.. 
>> 
>> About Darwinism,  As you said, DNA and genetic engineering did not exist at 
>the time of definition.   Felidae & Canidae  or Cats and Dogs can not breed an 
>offspring and it is fatal if they do so, since they belong to different 
>species   Who knows what happens in the future or happened millions of years 
>ago. I speculate about such things.  I have no proof one way or the other at 
>hand.   (  A Korsak looks like cross breed between a cat & a dog, I may call 
>it a cat ).  I will read or re-read the books that you suggested.  
>> 
>> Pavithra 
>>  
>>  
>> From: Pat Hayes <phayes@xxxxxxx>
>> To: Pavithra <pavithra_kenjige@xxxxxxxxx> 
>> Cc: [ontolog-forum] <ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
>> Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 11:35 AM
>> Subject: Re: [ontolog-forum] Dennett on the Darwinism of Memes
>> 
>> 
>> On Apr 10, 2013, at 8:15 AM, Pavithra wrote:
>> 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > John Bottoms: 
>> > From a modeling perspective:
>> >  
>> > ·        Languages are first level abstraction of real world
>> > ·        Languages are expression of the world, allows us to express and 
>communicate past, present, future, real and imaginary, proven and unproven 
>aspects of the world.
>> 
>> But they are also in the actual world, and can be studied empirically like 
>any other phenomenon.
>> 
>> > ·        Words are parts of a language.  
>> > ·        Nouns are used to express “things” in English language.  Things - 
>as in entities.  ( Not all words are things. For example, verbs are words, but 
>not things)
>> 
>> All words are things. Not all words *describe* things, maybe. 
>> 
>> > ·        Nouns are a subset of words. 
>> > ·        Memes are ideas / concepts, real or imaginary, proven or 
>unproven.  
>> >  
>> > Question is :  do  we need to model  meme??
>> 
>> Who is "we" and what is being "modeled"?
>> 
>> > My opinion : Concepts can be named with a name  and modeled.    At present 
>we do not use the verbiage –“ meme” for it.  Probably we can use the name 
>“meme”  in the future. 
>> 
>> My advice would be to only use the term if you have a pretty exact idea of 
>what it is you are talking about, and document that understanding as carefully 
>as you possibly can. 
>> 
>> > 
>> > About Darwinism,  Americans use the word Darwinism from a scientific 
>evolution point of view vs theological, god made us, changed us ( mutation) 
>etc. 
>> 
>> American scientists use the term the same way other scientists do. 
>> 
>> > 
>> > Maxwell,  & Dr. Steven. 
>> > Thanks for summarizing my gibberish writing.  ( It was not scientific feed 
>back, it was more of a general discussion)
>> > There is natural evolution due to mutation and then there is human 
>intervention for change.
>> 
>> Until recently, the only intervention available was artificial *selection*, 
>which follows the natural process but amplifies the effects. 
>> 
>> >  Grafting & genetic engineering are human intervention.  My point was 
>Darwinism did not include human intervention, or cross breeding among 
>subspecies.  
>> 
>> Darwin certainly considered cross-breeding and also human intervention in 
>breeding (eg of dogs and farm animals, which he studied at great length: I 
>recommend reading his "Origin of Species", it is a very readable work.) He did 
>not, of course, consider genetic engineering, as genetics had not even been 
>formulated when he was writing. I suspect he would have been delighted and 
>fascinated to have known about genetics and DNA, but he did not have this 
>pleasure. 
>> 
>> > You mentioned that his theory includes cross breeding among subspecies??  
>> 
>> If animals can breed and produce fertile offspring, they are (by definition) 
>the same species. 
>> 
>> > 
>> > However the following is not totally proven in all cases and is open for 
>speculation and there are ethical issues about genetic engineering. ( I don;t 
>want to go there)
>> >     • crossing between different species is genetically fatal  .. 
>> > Thanks,
>> > Pavithra 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > From: John Bottoms <john@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> > To: ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
>> > Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 6:20 AM
>> > Subject: Re: [ontolog-forum] Dennett on the Darwinism of Memes
>> > 
>> > Pavithra,
>> > 
>> > I may not have remembered his wording correctly in the use of "word". 
>Also, it is a difficulty of linguistics that "thing" often gets used when a 
>better selection would be "entity". However, the audience understood the 
>intent of the question. Words come and go and likewise memes come and go. They 
>share some characteristics and there is a shoot-from-the-hip impulse to put 
>them in a lexicon or dictionary.
>> > 
>> > Another view might be that memes are types of propositions that need to be 
>evaluated. They could be classified into "indeterminate" until they are 
>evaluated. Dennett does recognize that memes are "good" or "bad", and I 
>suppose we should accept that they can be resurrected. One theory I have is 
>that the term "meme" applies to atomic entities that have particular 
>attributes or properties that  can be generalized or rationalized. If that is 
>true then we should be able to build classifiers for memes. A question for 
>exploration is whether that property can be understood in a way that makes 
>sense or is useful.
>> > 
>> > Your view of giraffe evolution is referred to as Lamarckian inheritance 
>and it survives today only as a weakened theory. 
>(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamarckism)
>> > 
>> > -John Bottoms
>> >  Concord, MA USA
>> > On 4/9/2013 8:39 PM, Pavithra wrote:
>> >> Hello,
>> >> 
>> >> Words are not things.  "Words" representation things if they are nouns.  
>memes are ideas that spreads from person to person?? 
>> >> 
>> >> Darwinism and theory of evolution explains how living organisms evolve 
>over  few generations according to the needs/usage etc. According to him 
>Giraffe has long neck, because they keep stretching their neck to eat branches 
>and eventually it caused a genetic mutation to  aid survival -- a process 
>known as "natural selection." These beneficial mutations are passed on to the 
>next generation. 
>> >> 
>> >>  Darwin does not take cross pollination ( for lack of better word)  of 
>plants and animals and between different species that happens in one 
>generation and produce offspring of  blended types  into consideration.  A 
>Lion and Tiger may have a Liger for a child.  You can actually cut a branch of 
>one fruit tree and put it  another fruit tree branch stub and tie it up and it 
>may bear the fruit of the first tree kind..  There is all sorts of 
>intervention that happens to change the way species of plants and animal world 
>to evolve  into  something new and different not only by genetic mutation due 
>to thousands of years of  usage or need for survival but due to cross 
>pollination.  I know this is a thesis for genetic decoding not fiction.  
>> >> 
>> >> I still have to read the book listed below..
>> >> 
>> >> Pavithra    
>> >>  
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> From: John Bottoms <john@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> >> To: [ontolog-forum] <ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
>> >> Sent: Tuesday, April 9, 2013 5:28 PM
>> >> Subject: [ontolog-forum] Dennett on the Darwinism of Memes
>> >> 
>> >> Daniel Dennett's next book will be out in a few weeks and I had the 
>> >> opportunity to hear him talk about how memes obey the tenets of Darwinism.
>> >> 
>> >> The title of his book is, "Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking".
>> >> (not available yet, 
>> >> http://www.amazon.com/Intuition-Pumps-Other-Tools-Thinking/dp/0393082067)
>> >> 
>> >> His argument starts by asking if words are things. Then he argues that 
>> >> if words are things then we should consider memes as things also. He 
>> >> goes on to illustrate that memes follow the basic three principles of 
>> >> Darwinism.
>> >> 
>> >> His arguments are compelling and I wonder where they belong in the grand 
>> >> ontologies of entities. Are memes a new construct, or do memes simply 
>> >> replicate a known construct?
>> >> 
>> >> -John Bottoms
>> >>  FirstStar Systems
>> >>  Concord, MA USA
>> >> 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > 
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