3 ms·
The oddest part of the story is the suggestion that the concept of meme arose with the internet, instead of with Richard Dawkins in the mid 1970s.
by andrewprock 6y ago
The oddest part of the story is the suggestion that the concept of meme arose with the internet, instead of with Richard Dawkins in the mid 1970s.
- hunter2_ 6y agoThe parenthetical (em-dash-ical?) quip about the internet serves to educate the least knowledgeable, while all other usage of the word suggests no such thing. In fact, the first usage is a link to a page clearly attributing the word to Dawkins.
- Zuider 6y agoRichard Dawkins' concept of a meme is much broader and more abstract, a self-perpetuating idea (that need not be graphical in nature.) The internet meme, while it still fits Dawkins' concept of a meme, is a distinctive phenomenon, and is essentially graffiti released from its former physical constraints, allowing it to spread virally, often without any clear reason behind its popularity. The Chad/Kilroy meme, because of its origins in worldwide troop movement during WWII which enhanced its spread, bears a striking resemblance to a modern internet meme for that reason.