Meme
If you have a stable internet connection, you might have come across at least one internet meme today. Notice how I used the term internet meme and not just meme. It is because they are just an example of the broader context of memes. It is fun to create and share a meme but, why do they always look a certain way? Creating memes is synonymous with the idea of creating bits of culture, and in this context, religion might be the most infectious or “viral” meme ever. Meme The word meme was coined by biologist Richard Dawkins in his book - The Selfish Gene (1976) as a concept for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena. To understand the concept of memes, one must understand the concept of a replicator. A replicator is the theoretical basic unit of evolution in the gene-centered view of evolution. It copies information with variation and selection. Genes are a replicator. When animals mate or seeds grow, information is ...