Citation

Mitra S. Aust. N. Zeal. J. Psychiatry 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0004867420976847

PMID

33287556

Abstract

Memes are described as units of cultural transmission, evolving and undergoing natural selection following the same Darwinian principles as genes, exerting a "second evolutionary force affecting human development". Rapidly expanding social networks and plummeting costs of data (resources, R) are enriching the memetic pool by bringing cultures in contact, adding newer variations and providing memes with a fertile ground to reproduce and propagate. However, in absence of infinite R, ensuing evolutionary pressure is likely to produce a struggle for survival and select variations which are "advantageous" for the host. Given the substrate-neutral nature of evolutionary processes, it is not difficult to extrapolate some of the key features of genetic evolution to determine memetic fitness of a population.

Language: en