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The Meme Machine (Paperback)

by Susan Blackmore (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Habits, skills, songs, stories, ideas: humans are marvellously equipped to keep themselves and each other ceaselessly busy and it's as well, for no matter how hard we try, we humans just can't stop thinking. So, says Susan Blackmore, what if consciousness is not some esoteric genetic freebie but is itself the product of an altogether different evolutionary process?

Once humans learned to imitate each other--that is, receive, copy and retransmit "memes"--the rest, Blackmore argues, is a foregone and somewhat chilling conclusion: we are the product of our memes just as we are the products of our genes, the trouble being that memes, like genes, care only for their own propagation. The ability to imitate each other laid us open to ideas good and bad in equal measure. These proliferated in such numbers that individuals, competing to imitate the best imitators, needed bigger and bigger brains to contain the flood. Now our heads are so big, they are barely birthable.

Blackmore's brilliantly argued version of how humans became conscious--not to say downright troubled--demolishes some of the most intractable problems of human evolution and social biology, with flair. Hers is a book full of careful arguments and thrilling conjectures: riddled, in other words, with promising memes. --Simon Ings

Review
Anyone who hopes or fears that memetics will become a science of culture will find this surefooted exploration of the prospects a major eye-opener. (Daniel Dennett )

Any theory deserves to be given its best shot, and that is what Susan Blackmore has given the theory of the meme I am delighted to recommend her book. (Richard Dawkins )

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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The meme machine unleashed!, 15 Sep 2002
By Simon Laub (Aarhus, Denmark, Europe) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Human bodies evolved by natural selection, just as other animals. But still we are different. According to Susan Blackmore thats because we are capable of imitation. We can thereby copy ideas, habits, inventions, songs and stories. I.e. memes. And now memes are as powerful, if not more powerful, than the good old genes, in directing human evolution. I find the idea intriguing, and certainly Susan Blackmore argue well for the idea. The (evolutionary) pressure for imitation skills requires big brains. So we evolve big brains, as people mate with the ones with the most memes. Language is invented in order to spread memes. Film stars, journalists, writers, singers, politicians and artists become the most attractive, as they are the ones who spread the most memes. Things that are hard to explain in a genetic context (such as adoption, birth control, celibacy) are easy to explain in a meme context (the memes are happy with it, as it help spread more memes). Science becomes a process to distinguish true memes from false memes. Fax-machines, telephones, etc. are created (by the memes) in order to spread more memes. Writing is a battleground in the head between memes wanting to be spread etc.

It all rings true to me. Except Susan Blackmores claim that the self is a complex meme. Certainly it is puzzling that blind people are reported thinking that Their "I" is located at their fingertips, when they read Braille. Still there are other explanations to what a human "I" is than memes. Personally, I prefer Antonio Damasios, as he explain edit in the book "the feeling of what happens". Nevertheless, Susan Blackmores book is a very exciting read, with lots of clever thoughts. Or should I say memes?

-Simon

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars The world is still waiting for "the book" on memes., 27 May 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Meme Machine (Hardcover)
Ever since Dawkins wrote his chapter on memes in The Selfish Gene, people have become captivated by the meme meme. Several people have attempted to wrap their minds around the concept, and present it in a useful and comprehensive way. While Blackmore's attempt is, I think, the best yet, it tries to do too much, and ends up collapsing under its own weight. Some of the assertions, such as the development of large brains in humans being a function of memes' imperative, while possibly correct in part, lose the force of their argument by their overstatement. Humans are thinking machines, not copying machines, and brains evolved to think. Memes ride along, for better or worse, on the waves created by the constant motion of our thoughts. Not the other way around. I believe memetics will someday prove to be a valuable tool for understanding some cultural and behavioural aspects of humans. But right now, they still more resemble Gould's "meaningless metaphor" description.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific book on a 'science' in decline, 18 Oct 2007
By Karel Bata (London (a posh bit)) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Meme Machine (Hardcover)
It is a shame that just as usage of the word 'meme' is becoming commonplace, the 'science' of Memetics is falling out of favour. This is largely due to its inability to actually predict anything. For a science to be accepted as such it has to be testable - so it has to be predictive. Memetics (so far) doesn't do that. All it does is offer explanations of things that have already happened, and so many of its enthusiastic early converts have since gone in other directions. This is a shame, because to anyone new to it Memetics does offer the most stunning of explanations and insights.

Anyway, back in 2000, while everyone else dithered, Susan Blackmore nailed her colours to the mast and wrote this brilliant book full of insight and daring conjecture. You might disagree with a lot of what she says - it might even annoy you - but you will find it a fascinating read, and the best book (yet) on the subject.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Very valuable ideas in parts too much speculation in others
I feel quite ambivalent about the book. In parts I was introduced or reminded of some great concepts and ideas. In other it felt like there was too much speculation. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Roberto

1.0 out of 5 stars a metaphor run mad
The whole of meme theory just needs deleting from human discourse and this book proves it. It is the ultimate example of a metaphor run mad, of fetishism in the Marxist sense. Read more
Published 1 month ago by F. Roberts

2.0 out of 5 stars Simply Amazing!
It is simply amazing to me that someone could make a career out of peddling such pseudo-scientific guff as this. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. D. A. Littlewood

4.0 out of 5 stars Good first impression
I just started reading the book but it seems a good reference for a course I will start next week.
Published 4 months ago by Paulo C. Toledo Jr.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great theory, let's apply it.
I found this book both thought provoking and slightly disturbing. The arguments are well constructed and make perfect sense. Read more
Published on 30 Jun 2007 by Stephen Parry

5.0 out of 5 stars Dont read this if your depressed
Seriously, dont read this if your depressed, it will push you over the edge..wherever that may be. A friend of mine gave me this to read, thinking i would enjoy it, and so i read... Read more
Published on 1 Nov 2005

5.0 out of 5 stars The Book of Common Sense
It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the term 'meme' to surpass the lexicon of phrases previously used to convey cultural ideas. Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2005 by Stephen A. Haines

4.0 out of 5 stars Memes have a lot to answer for.
The concept and idea of memes is such a simple, but extraordinary idea, originally hatched by Dawkins. Read more
Published on 22 May 2004 by R. Britain

3.0 out of 5 stars great ideas - sloppy scholarship
This could have been a great book. As an average book, it contains many great ideas. The Foreword by Dawkins is nicely written, but unfortunately sets the bar a little high for... Read more
Published on 12 May 2003 by Booky Bookster

4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating theory carried to doubtful extremes.
Susan Blackmore's latest work provides the potential for making sense of many things which have long seemed to defy logic and understanding. Read more
Published on 13 Oct 2000

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