Originated by Richard Dawkins (The Selfish Gene, 1976) and developed by Daniel C. Dennett (Darwin's Dangerous Idea, 1995), Susan Blackmore (The Meme Machine, 1999), and Limor Shifman (Memes in Digital Culture, 2014).
Treats ideas, phrases, and practices as units that copy themselves from person to person, and asks why some spread and last while others fade.
When to reach for it
Messages, practices, or change programs spread in one place and stall in another, and the idea's merit does not explain the difference.
How it runs
- Name the unit being studied: a phrase, a story, or a practice.
- Identify who carries it and what competes with it.
- Rate how faithfully it copies, how often it spreads, and how long it lasts.
- Find the weakest of the three.
- Strengthen that property in the next version.
Where it sits in SOLVE eX
Go to the source
- The Selfish Gene, Oxford University Press, 1976
- Darwin's Dangerous Idea, Simon and Schuster, 1995
- The Meme Machine, Oxford University Press, 1999
- Memes in Digital Culture, MIT Press, 2014