Forwarded from м'ясорубка
https://thephilosophersmeme.com/2015/11/26/bane-loss-and-phylogeny/
My current hypothesis is that Internet Memes are a natural experiment involving entire ecosystems of ‘art-organisms’ simulated in silico. Here I present several evolutionary models for the study and classification of these art-organisms, outlining the limitations of simple Darwinian models prevalent in memetics and presenting a superior alternative. I suggest that the tension between Mainstream Internet Meme culture and Underground Internet Meme culture is at the basis of the evolutionary history of Internet Memes: the Mainstream exerted a pressure towards normalization and conservation while the Underground exerted a pressure towards subversion and mutation. I believe that this dynamic of selective pressures has remained consistent through the entire history of Internet Memes, only varying in their relative magnitudes.
My current hypothesis is that Internet Memes are a natural experiment involving entire ecosystems of ‘art-organisms’ simulated in silico. Here I present several evolutionary models for the study and classification of these art-organisms, outlining the limitations of simple Darwinian models prevalent in memetics and presenting a superior alternative. I suggest that the tension between Mainstream Internet Meme culture and Underground Internet Meme culture is at the basis of the evolutionary history of Internet Memes: the Mainstream exerted a pressure towards normalization and conservation while the Underground exerted a pressure towards subversion and mutation. I believe that this dynamic of selective pressures has remained consistent through the entire history of Internet Memes, only varying in their relative magnitudes.