> Memes are not very tightly coupled to the physical fleshbags they inhabit. Which is why the most successful memes are those which induce an artificial coupli

> Memes are not very tightly coupled to the physical fleshbags they inhabit. Which is why the most successful memes are those which induce an artificial coupling, e.g. religious beliefs that infuse culture so thoroughly that they are passed from parent to offspring essentially by default. All the major world religions do this to some extent, and it's on vivid display in the more cult-like sects. > Currently, that pressure is for women to WANT to have children. While cultural effects may come and go, any genes coding directly for that will be reinforced. Perhaps the fundamental disagreement here is about whether or not the extent to which a woman "wants" children is encoded primarily in genes. I have trouble believing that, on the whole, genes have anything more than a marginal influence on birth rates in the presence of freely available contraception. I could be wrong. But there's probably a reason why at least one major religion forbids the use of contraception. That looks a lot like a meme that has taken matters into its own hands, genes be damned.