In a “what really grinds my gears” moment I’d like to discuss Memetics. Yes, your eyes do not deceive you, this will indeed include “memes”. Think of him as you will, but Richard Dawkins did develop the theory of “Memetics.” In his 1976 book, “The Selfish Gene,” Dawkins puts forth the idea that “ideas” as a whole, are in effect “viruses.”

Some of you may have now drawn the connection, Memes and “Viral” content. The theory further proposes that ideas have a survival of the fittest existence. Some things catch on, and propagate to the four winds (i.e. Reddit, TikTok, Discord, Youtube).

Think of all the phrases you use on a daily basis, any aphorisms, or pearls of wisdom from relatives. All of these are memes, and much like genetic factors, we as individuals absorb and spread certain thoughts and ideas. Jokes, famous lines from films, and effectively anything that would be considered “Popular Culture.”

What really grinds my gears, is the absolute dismissal of Memetics as a legitimate subject for study. Our modern era is collecting data on unprecedented levels, and that same data is being used by large companies in an attempt to sway thought and opinion towards the consumption of content and other products.

All of this data is something we do not have for other periods of history, it is quite literally an unprecedented amount of access to the cultural Zeitgeist. Imagine having the same level of data-analytics for Ancient Rome, or the Rapa Nui of Easter Island. Memetics can provide a cultural through-line to the thoughts and opinions of the masses. Why does some content “survive” while others languish? That is a question that still has no answer, but in many cases we are what we consume.

Future Historians will possibly know us better than we know ourselves at this point, a phrase I’m sure has oft be spoken by some individual in every decade of Human History.

Memes are worthy of study for Anthropological purposes.

With that out of the way, here is today’s poem… all about memetics!

By: Drew Swenson

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publisheda connection, person to person

one person’s “me”

another’s “me”

as it has been said, “me+me” will be stuck in your head.

thoughts, ideas, given form

bury in your head like a worm

rtuck inside, and hard to shake

endlessly repeating, an ouroboros snake

frivolous, or humorous

ominous, or prescient

memes can surround us

memes can be efficient

everything you say, or do

will impact someone other than you

a connection between two people across time or space

or a silly pic on the book of face.

examine your thoughts, examine your mind

are these yours? are these mine?

in the end, we build ourselves by the things to which we are exposed

what we hear, what we see, what is shared, what someone knows.