We all know a tune so catchy that when you listen to it, it seems to take over your mind. You might not even like it, but try as you might, you just can’t stop singing it or humming it. Or maybe there’s a bit of poetry you find popping into your head every now and then, or a line from a movie.

memes

At that time you might find yourself wondering: who’s in charge of this brain?

Well, the brain is still yours, but your mind might just have been taken over by a meme.

Memetics is the study of memes and memeplexes - also referred to as concepts/ideas/mental states/whatever. These can be anything from poems to religions to a fascination with hula hoops. Like genes, these are thought to be passed from bearer to bearer, either longitudinally (generation to generation) or horizontally (like viruses, from host to host). They influence their hosts in such a manner that they may be passed on - catchy tunes are pretty much the paradigmatic examples of memes. But religions and games and all other kinds of ideas can also be considered memes.

Memes, in other words, are ideas that spread themselves through the brains of human beings. They may be helpful, they may be stupid, or they may just be very, very catchy.

Memetics is hardly what you might call a rigorous science, or even a fully coherent concept at this point. Still, the idea of memes is clearly a very compelling one, and thus in itself a very powerful meme.

Written by Nicklaus Kruger