Re: Darwin Spencer Genes Memes

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On Fri, 4 Feb 1994, Steve Mizrach wrote:

> Ah, but there's the rub! If the model for selection remains the same, then
> how do we determine the "inclusive fitness" of the meme? We can examine
> such things as speed and breadth and quantity of replication (how fast, how
> far, how many exact copies of self); but how do we know how 'adapted' a
> meme is to a particular 'environment'?
>
In some evolutionary circles, scientists are debating whether a gene has
to be useful to be kept in the genetic pool. It is possible that it
only needs to be harmless...in other words, that a gene (or a "meme")
may not necessarily make an individual more adapted to its environment,
but that the same gene does not put the individual at odds with its
environment or at a reproductive disadvantage.

Stephanie Wilson

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