Richard Dawkins, that amicable, articulate, troublemaking biologist from the UK, codified the concept (and coined the term) of the meme in one of his most provocative books, The Selfish Gene.
The Meme
The idea, basically, is that we create behaviors through cultural imitation. Dawkins said, “Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperm or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation (pg 206).”
Memes are a product of culture, of social life. They include everything from fashion to the concept of God. Social networks, of course, are the vehicles but social networking did not begin with Facebook. Dawkins wrote The Selfish Gene long before people started poking each other through their computers.
And Dawkins certainly had nothing to do with the evolution of social networking. That probably started with—in the US anyway—folks like Paul Revere, galloping around the countryside, spreading the word. Then there was the telegraph. After that, it was the railroad that really got things going. Richard Sears (yes, of Sears & Roebuck) worked for the railroad, and through his invention of the mail order catalog showed the world the concept of ‘interconnectivity’, and this was probably the first large scale, efficient network.
An intriguing physical illustration of the modern-day, intercontinental network was put together by Andrew Blum for Wired, in which he captured “the journey of a single bit, as data flashes from sea to wired sea.” He and photographer Randall Mesdon compiled a portrait of the nondescript landmarks where the world’s technological umbilical cord is buried. The bit actually travels a section of the railroad Sears used.
Think of Dawkins meme as that bit, traveling at the speed of ‘holy cow’, carving out a vast venous system, throughout which the blood of chaos will soon run rampant.
The Manifestation of the Meme
The political landscape is a breeding ground for the chaos meme. Our United States have become, well, chaotic—at least in the realm of elected officials. Aspiring candidates, stubborn incumbents, and opinionated political analysts argue daily for argument’s sake. It seems implausible, in light of the otherwise ‘unchaotic’ two party system, but the donkeys and the pachyderms have become more entertaining with each election (we all want Palin to run, come on, the laughs would never end).
It’s not funny, though.
It has happened at the hands of a manic media, made more troublesome through the hullabaloo of the Internet. These plateaus have given wide-reaching voice to nincompoops, before the credibility of wide reaching voices has had a chance to be properly vetted by, and for, the mainstream. In other words, chaos has been injected into the flaccid forearm of a slumbering voting body by ideological disc jockeys and egomaniacs who’ve never read a decent book.
Out of the mayhem has sprung the hacker gone politic. Some folks see the big picture, are able to understand just what exactly is going on, and are driven to rebel. It’s a new type of rabble-rouser, an internet cowboy, sans grizzle and ten gallon hat, formerly labeled ‘geek’ but evolved into a conqueror of codes and firewall, and he has only added to the chaos.
The popular, current Lone Ranger is Julian Assange, and his righteous, rascally cronies, Anonymous, a motley band of laptop-toting avengers (chronicled most recently in Vanity Fair) who’ve managed some real feats of hack, including, but not limited to: clogging the websites belonging to MasterCard, PayPal, and Visa, and also crippling the government websites of Tunisia, Iran, and Egypt.
Finally, there are actual rebels who’ve imitated the chaos meme; oppressed people who do not own a MacBook Pro. It’s officially spread to a global scale. But the fire burns tallest, right now, throughout the Fertile Crescent. Where else would it? The countries in this part of the world thirst for the type of social civilization behind which they have lagged for generations.
And the role of social networks in the recent societal upheaval has been hastily documented, but proven nonetheless. (Tens of thousands gathered in Cairo after a post on Facebook) The Internet has filled their cups with the juice of social freedom and now that they’ve had a taste, chaos ensues.
What Does It All Mean?
The chaos can’t go on forever. It will come to a head and fizzle out (it always does; look at Easter Island, the Roman Empire, the Death Star…). I suppose, if I may generalize, it could go two ways.
All of this uncontrolled out-bursting on the Internet and all of these sudden memes could eventually lead to the implementation of real international laws, rules that could mean an end to any R-rated upload and all of that pesky, illegal downloading. Of course, that’s going to require some serious, global software/hardware design, a gothic-like system, regulated by Interpol or someone, and of course will likely result in some serious, I mean SERIOUS rebellion.
Or we can come together; yes together, boys and girls.
For example, some of the chaos has stopped, ironically, in the wake of Japan’s recent earthquakes and tsunami. The Internet, that bastion of tumult and rebellion, has become an umbilical cord again, through which countless of us now gladly give assistance, monetary or otherwise, from all corners of our globe, together, unquestionably sane.
And in light of this recent, unified generosity, I remain hopeful. I believe that underneath the bedlam lies one universal truth, one common force that drives goofy politicians and cyber rebels and real rebels: an innate certainty, whether it’s manifested in the glow of LED screens or some distant, organic technology. There still lies another remote gene in us, a common love that might propel us beyond the chaos, to a peace that transcends our common behavior.
Sources
- Blum, A. (December, 2009). Netscapes. Wired, 17(12), 172.
- Dawkins, R. (1976). The Selfish Gene. Oxford, NY; Oxford University Press
- Grigoriadis, V. (April, 2011). 4chan's chaos theory. Vanity Fair, No. 608, 174.
Don O'Cull - I have a BFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. I’ve been writing poetry, prose, fiction, and a little nonfiction ...
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