3 ms·
Memes aren't strictly inheritable in the same way that genes are. For example, it is completely plausible to advance the argument that children in large famili
by rohansingh 14y ago
Memes aren't strictly inheritable in the same way that genes are.
For example, it is completely plausible to advance the argument that children in large families decide to have fewer offspring due to their own childhood experiences. I'm not saying that this is definitively the case or that I have any evidence for it, but it is just as plausible as the conjecture that a propensity for a large number of offspring is perfectly inheritable.
- lukifer 14y agoEven if memes are not genetically heritable, they are still transmissible, and therefore still subject to selection pressures. And the more children these families have, the broader the attack surface for large-family beliefs to infect the next generation. Moreover, I would suggest that genetics do influence tendencies for adopting some memes over others, especially as regarding the instinct to spread genetic material, which is very ancient. I can't cite any scientific support for this idea, but the likelihood seems very strong.