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{3.4} memes are units of cultural transmission
topics:
memes can be thought of us as units of culture that we transmit to one another.
this is analogous to genes: genes are units of biological information that replicate themselves from generation to generation, from body to body; memes are units of cultural information that replicate and transmit themselves from mind to mind.
memes might be songs, ideas, slang, fashion trends, art, speech, rituals, themes, and any other “unit” that make up or influence our social behavior, norms, knoweldge, attitudes, and habits.
critics of this perspective posit that culture exists on a continuum with memes being “arbitrary constructs of the observer”.
tara mcmullin defines memes as “artifact[s] of social interaction and iteration.”