When I first saw the name of this talk and the picture associated, I almost immediately thought, "What the heck is THIS?" It appeared to be an older gentleman doing an entire TED talk on memes, which I thought was almost certainly worth a look. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you're not a fan of my frivolity), this talk was not actually about the Harambe/Pepe/Dat Boi type of meme. Dennett's definition of 'meme' is completely different from the more modern take on the word (granted, this TED talk was published in 2002, so the modern type of 'meme' likely did not exist yet).
So, when Dennett is referring to a 'meme', he's talking about something completely different than what I would label a 'meme'. Dennett's version of a meme is sort of like a parasitic, toxic idea - something, positive or negative, that essentially takes over the minds of people around the world. One example of a meme in humans that Dennett talks about is the religion of Islam. Apparently, according to Dennett, the word 'Islam' directly means 'surrender' or 'submission of self-interest to the will of Allah'. Another more comical example is New Hampshire's state motto, which is "Live free or die". Essentially, these are ideas and ideals that a vast majority of the world would risk their lives for. Some other memes include Communism, justice, and truth - all ideas people have laid down their lives for. It's a strange concept, but it makes some sense. The fact that these ideas are essentially hijacking our brains and influencing some people to risk their lives simply for beliefs is really interesting.
So, to sum up my thoughts on this TED talk, I was disappointed, but I also found it to be pretty eye-opening. I was hoping immensely that the talk would cover the pop-culture type of memes, but it unfortunately went on a completely different and unexpected path. My thoughts on Dennett are that he has a good sense of humor, but his voice is a little boring. I would say that, if you aren't into philosophy or psychology, you should give this talk a hard pass. However, if you are into philosophy or psychology, give this talk a try - it's a little long, but the concept of memes is interesting. Also, from now on, I'll be putting a link to the talk along with a picture of the talk below my review.
This talk sounds very interesting because of the new perspective that it offers. Memes are now such a common concept that it is strange to think of them as anything else, but I can see the parallels between the two definitions of the word.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the post!
I entirely agree with you, at first I had the assumption that memes referred to the pop culture reference version of memes. What interested me the most was your opinions on the talk and how it varied. You gave your opinion on his voice and humor, and even about the hard topic of it of philosophy and psychology. Who would have know that memes could mean and idea people would lay down their lives for. Thank you for such an interesting post!
ReplyDeleteVictoria Tran
Ben-I think one of the most interesting things about this talk is how old it is. The fact that it was filmed in 2002 really lets us consider how things have developed in the meantime. You are right that the notion of what a meme even is has changed somewhat. It would be interesting to watch a bunch of talks from the early 2000s to see where we have been, where we are, and where we may be going! Thanks.
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