Reading 3 - Frank Hu

Genes and memes, really? I can understand where the author is coming from. Like genes, memes have high fecundity and are replicable. They do have many similarities, and the meme is infinitely more fertile than genes. With that said, I really can't believe the author compared the two.

Look at how long genes have been around. Memes in comparison have existed for less than 0.0001% of the time. Even the meme of god the author uses has not been around long. The internet age has enabled the creation of easily digestible, valuable content. However, most of it is easily forgotten and far less valuable than genes. Putting them on the same level exalts memes to some higher level that it does not deserve. Despite sharing many similarities, memes are bacteria (short run resistant but long run forgettable) compared to genes. Memes may have high fecundity but the life time of an entire type is extremely short.