Memetic bondage

Memes reproduce much like viruses, through infection and replication

They try not to kill their hosts, at least, before spreading across the nation

They compete with one another for hosts, until their mass gets critical

In an arms race where the territory is mental, not physical

 

Genes, to cells, to bodies, with brains

From mind to minds, through thoughts and ideas

Their strength at a high level, is being malleable

And their roots often lie… in our deepest fears

 

Folklore, urban legends, biblical injunctions

Secular prophecies, and scientific revolutions

Architecture, iconography, tastes in food, kinks of passion

Art, songs, stories, mass media campaigns, and trends in fashion

 

 

So… I now assume most ‘things’ are memes, but here’s an odd disclaimer

The gene is a well-established product, of biological phenomena

So the meme is a unit of social evolution, and once it’s been created

Like the gene, is forced to evolve, till it’s significantly mutated

 

For example, like the jingle bells song, alternate versions exist, where

A word or two, or even a full line, is different here or there

Still, the structure of the song doesn’t vary significantly

So mistranslation doesn’t change the meaning of the story

 

Memetics in language can be quite ambiguous, so it seems to me

Anyone can mess about, and change the words Willy, or Billy, Nilly

But memes in mathematics, are required to be specific. Else’ the cost?

If even one number or symbol is mistranslated, all of the essence is lost