Genes and Memes

The term "gene" is defined as a unit of heredity that is passed on from parent to offspring. A "gene pool" is the sum of all genes within a given population and is the mechanism by which a species evolves and is acted upon by natural selection.
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The term "meme" has been proposed as a corresponding element of culture that is passed from one individual to another by non-genetic means. A "meme pool" is the sum of all memes within a given cultural population, and is the mechanism by which a culture evolves and is acted upon by natural selection.
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This explanation of memes is incomplete because it does not recognize that a "culture" embodies the design for a higher-level living system. The three-level living system model provides a framework to provide a much clearer and more robust explanation of memes and their correspondence to genes.

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The Genes of Independent vs. Dependent Cells
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Independent Cells are those eukaryotes whose behavior is autonomous and competitive with other cells. Once created, their genes are fixed, and cannot be switched on/off for specialization of their capabilities. They do not contain a genome for a higher-level living system, and cannot join together to become components of such a system.
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Only Dependent Cells have Genes that can be Programmed

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Dependent Cells are those eukaryotes whose behavior is cooperative with other cells that exist as components of a higher-lever living system, i.e., an organism. When created, many of their genes are programmable, and can be switched on/off during development to tailor the cell's behavior for specialization and division of labor within their organism. They contain the organism's genome, and are designed to exist as dependent, specialized components within that system. These are the cells whose genes will be compared with memes.
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The Origin of Memes
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In his 1967 book The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins explained how genes are the replicators that allow a species' gene pool to evolve through natural selection. He saw a parallel in the way the pool of "ideas" found in a culture also evolve over time. To emphasize this similarity, he proposed the term "meme" to describe the cultural element that corresponds to a gene.
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Since that time there has been much elaboration of memes and "memetics," together with great controversy over how to interpret Dawkin's views and how to reconcile them with existing theories in various disciplines. Much of the discourse has revolved around the vagueness of the term "culture" and how to identify its components.
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Current definitions of "meme" express this vagueness, and include such things as "A practice or idea, that gets transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another, including thoughts, ideas, theories, practices, habits, songs, dances and moods." This kind of definition makes it hard to conceive of culture as having a systematic structure. The three-level architecture of the Living System Model provides a framework that brings greater clarity, enabling a tighter definition of the meme concept that is consistent with Dawkin's original treatise.
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How Genes and Memes Fit into the Living System Hierarchy
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When genes and memes are viewed from within the three-level living system hierarchy, they appear as inter-level control mechanisms:
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Genes:	Embody cell design, and use it to control cell creation, development, specialization and integration to create the structure and action capabilities of a higher-level living system, i.e., an organism.
Memes:	Embody organism design, and use it to control organism creation, development, specialization and integration to create the structure and action capabilities of a higher-level living system, i.e., a superorganism.

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Organism creation begins with a single fertilized ovum mother cell that contains the entire genetic design of the organism-to-be. The design has been drawn from an existing gene pool, and is programmed to replicate and develop cells in a systematic way to construct a living organism. The new daughter cells contain the entire genetic design. The organism develops by replicating more cells, and as they arrive certain genes are switched on or off to prepare them for specialized work within particular organs. The resulting mature cells act within organs to collectively carry out the life functions of the organism.
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Superorganism creation begins with the development of a meme pool, produced when a group of organisms learns to work together and share resources for their common good. The meme pool consists of a set of behavioral rules that its members have agreed to follow. In doing so, the members give up some of their freedom of action in return for the benefits of more readily available sources of nourishment and better protection from the environment. The superorganism develops as its organisms reproduce, and the new components undergo education and training to prepare them for specialized work within particular organization units. These mature organisms act within organizations to collectively carry out the life functions of the superorganism.
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Genes and Memes Perform the Same Function
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During creation, development and operation of a living system, both genes and memes perform the same function, but at different levels within the living systems hierarchy. Genes control the development of cells, and their assmbly into the cooperative organs of an organism. Memes control the development of organisms, and their assembly into the cooperative organizations of a superorganism.
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Although they accomplish the same basic living system purpose, there are differences in the complexity of how genes and memes carry out their function. These differences become evident when the construction of human organisms is compared with that of superorganisms. Human organisms are made up of cells that permanently reside within organs, wherein their operational action capabilities are fixed. Human-based superorganisms are made up of organisms that (for work purposes) temporarily reside within organizations, wherein their operational action capabilities are only temporarily fixed for the job at hand. These more flexible organisms have the ability to learn and perform new kinds of work, either within the same organization or in some other organization.
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Comparison of Gene and Meme Structures
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To illustrate the architectural correlation between genes and memes, the following table provides some key structural definitions, portrayed within the context of the three-level living systems architecture. Since this is a structural view, it may help to think of genes as constraints on the behavior of cells, and memes as constraints on the behavior of organisms.
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Gene Structures	Meme Structures
DNA: The sequence of genetic instructions required for creation, development and operation of an organism.	Culture: The sequence of memetic instructions required for creation, development and operation of a superorganism.
Gene: A segment of DNA code sequence that is responsible for a specific trait of the organism, and a reproducible unit of heredity.	Meme: A segment of cultural code sequence that is responsible for a specific trait of the superorganism, and a reproducible unit of heredity.
Genome: The complete set of genes in a specific individual organism.	Memome: The complete set of memes in a specific individual superorganism.
Gene Pool: The stock of genes in an interbreeding population of organisms. Effectively, the concensus of ??????	Meme Pool: The stock of memes in an interbreeding population of superorganisms. Effectively, the concensus of cultural traits across a superorganism's population.

Memeplex vs. ??????????????????

A gene embodies a segment of the DNA code that defines what it does, together with a switch to turn it on or off.

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Development of cells within an organism involves a fixed genome, where existing genes are switched on/off to produce specialized capabilities. In contrast, the development of organisms within a superorganism involves a flexible, adaptive "memome," where an individual organism selectively receives its specialization characteristics from a dynamic pool of memes.
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Another major difference shows up after development, in the operation stage of the living systems lives. Where an individual organism is limited throughout its life to a fixed set of genes that were drawn from an external species gene pool, a superorganism houses a dynamic meme pool within its borders that continuously evolves throughout its lifetime.
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An Organism's Genes	A Superorganism's Memes
When activated for action within a cell, they produce RNA (copies of their DNA action code), which direct the synthesis of proteins, which produce cellular actions, which collectively produce organism action.	When activated for action within an organism, they produce copies of their action code, which direct the assembly of scenario hierarchies of action elements, which produce organism actions, which collectively produce superorganism action.

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The living system model provides the three-level architecture that puts "memes" and "culture" in their proper context. Memes can now be seen clearly as the design and control elements of a superorganism. Some authors have recognized that this vague thing they call "culture" is a meme pool, but they have had no concept of a higher-level living system, and no framework by which to link "culture" to the structure of a superorganism. Using the framework provided by the three-level architecture it becomes clear that: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next section Digital Age makes use of the meme and meme pool concepts to help explain how and where digital technology is changing all three levels of living system.