> >
> >Here's a scheme for you to discuss, possibly the most infectous and
> >successful meme complex in the world: the 'war of the sexes' meme-complex.
All right!
Camille Paglia meets Ollie North
> >Not only the contents of the meme-complex, but why that particular scheme is
> >so successful. The dichotomy of gender near universal and a lot of the
> >aspects of it don't vary (i.e. men are strong, women are subtle). Is the
> >fact that disparate civilizations seem to have developed a similar scheme
> >mean that not only is it successful, but more probable to be an accurate
> >representation of reality?
I would like to jump on this one. I would say that aside from sheer
physical/biological truths about how the male and female bodies are
structured, there are no universal aspects of construction of gender.
IMHO they are completely relative to cultural and economic influences.
There is an island east of Paupau New Guinea (forgot the name) where
there is an inversion of what we would call normal gender constructs. On
this island the women are in charge of all properties and technology,
because it is they who make it and distribute it, and it is considered
very manly to hug and kiss your children and carry them around all day.
A friend of mine was talking recently about hunter gatherer societies.
(This was when I mentioned to him Eva's post where women have 16
receptors for the color green com[pared to men having only 2.) We were
compounding that with some data that suggests men are biologically
equipped to track movement and trajectories where women are best
equipped to understand chaotic patterns and random shapes. (Ie. men are
good hunters women are good gatherers.) Aparently a tribe of such people
are sustained 85% by gathered calories and 15% by hunted calories-- so
why keep the men around?? some say it was for tribal defense.
> > Which brings up another issue: the accuracy of memes. How does the
> >accuracy of a meme affect it's propigation?
Oh no!!! Another absolute truth thread!! BACK Back demon of hell, I
rebuke thee!
And, possibly more important,
> >should the 'truth' of a meme be used as criteria of the desireablilty of the
> >meme? Does truth equal beauty, in this respect?
I like to think that beauty = usefulness
-- Regards +--------------------------------------------------------+ Ken Pantheists http://www.lucifer.com/~kenpan +--------------------------------------------------------+