Memes have as an important characteristic their propagation through
imitation, a concept introduced by the French sociologist Gabriel
Tarde. Imitation involves copying the observed behaviour of another
individual. Typically imitators copy behaviour from observing other
humans, but they may also copy from an inanimate source, such as from a
book or from a musical score. Imitation may depend on brains
sufficiently powerful to assess the key aspects of the imitated
behavior (what to copy and why) as well as its potential benefits
Researchers have observed memetic copying in just a few species on
Earth, including hominids, dolphins and birds (which learn how to sing
by imitating their parents).
When imitation first evolved in the animal ancestors of humans, it
proved itself a valuable skill for learning, which increased an
individual's ability to reproduce genetically. Some have speculated
that sexual selection of the best imitators further drove a genetic
increase in the ability of brains to imitate well.
Interestingly, memetics suggests that memes have the potential for a
much more lasting effect than genes. Most organisms pass their genes on
to their offspring sexually, but with every generation the genetic
contribution of a given ancestor halves - so that a person only has a
quarter of their grandfather's personal genes, for example (of course,
populations inherit most genes in common). Susan Blackmore has
poignantly evaluated the legacy of Socrates. Since the 5th century BC
Socrates' genes have become thoroughly diluted (dispersed); however,
his memes still have a profound effect on modern thought and on
contemporary philosophical discourse.
In modern times, the advent of the Internet — and more specifically
of email — has provided memes with a high-fidelity propagation medium
that enables highly prolific memes to propagate quickly. Chain emails
furnish a significant example, and in-depth studies have examined their
evolution and mutation based on their differential survival rate.
Paper-based chain letters, predecessors to this meme-distribution net,
have also attracted study, but they have a lower propagation-rate due
to the higher copying effort, and a higher mutation-rate may have
occurred due to manual transcription or degraded photocopying, thus
potentially reducing their lifespan. It seems plausible that the first
email chain letters started when recipients transcribed paper-based
chain-letters to email, suggesting that memes can move from one
propagation medium to another (more efficient) one.
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