Memes and Monads

Gottfried Leibniz was an intellectual giant. His row with Newton produced one of the most undeserved media onslaughts in history. Germany, his country, has had a raw deal for centuries, maybe deservedly so, I won't defend authoritarians. He was just, plain and simply, a genius.

I am starting to study his Monadology, and I sense similarities with Memetics.

A meme is a cultural construct that remains, in the fight in Memespace.

It is hard to visualize an idea fighting for attention, but that is what I am talking about. This blog, Relevant Science is a meme, and I am doing poorly competing  with all those great blogs out there.

Now what is a monad?

This idea was invented in the seventeenth century. I believe that Leibniz, didn't visualize Memespace, as I do. Maybe he thought his memes were material, like atoms, or something. I believe that memes can be ideas that stay. A good tune, or song  is a meme. This Note you are reading, is a meme. Will any of the readers remember it?, If one does, it will start populating that person thinking space, some actual blood and nutrients will go to maintain the idea in her brain.

If my analogy, metaphor, or whatever you want to call it, remains; memes as monads will be part of culture. In that case Leibniz will be appreciated as the visionary that he was.