Meme
Before it became synonymous with pictures shared on social media, meme was a term coined by Richard Dawkins meant to refer to the way that ideas self-replicate in a way that is similar to genes or a virus. A particularly useful or entertaining idea will spread far and wide, while the vast majority will come and go without a blip on the radar.
In metaculture the term meme will refer to the Richard Dawkins definition, since this is a useful way to describe important ideas, how and why they spread.
Memes, Rituals & Beliefs
Spiritual beliefs and rituals take the form that they do because they have been successful at replicating themselves over long periods of time. Evolution and game theory have shown that this type of genetic learning algorithm is excellent at coming up with novel solutions that are highly effective. You can think of any religion as a collection of doctrines, rituals, and beliefs that have helped their respective cultures survive and grow over many generations.
A huge part of their success in the marketplace of ideas is their ability to inspire people to take collective action by reinforcing in-group identities and promoting a perspective that yields happiness in the believer. If it didn't promote happiness then people would not be motivated to replicate the idea, since happiness is the manifestation of the brain's desire to replicate an idea or action.
Critics will point to the hierarchical and authoritarian aspects of traditional religions and suggest that these beliefs are a conspiracy between the clergy and kings to control and pacify the population. But the genetic algorithm model suggests a more trial-and-error approach, where the stuff that got a good reaction stuck and the stuff that failed to inspire fell by the wayside. The fact that social hierarchies were reinforced was just as much a function of peasants trying to find meaning in a world controlled by kings as it is kings trying to find a way to keep the peasants happy. From this feedback loop a hodgepodge of beliefs and rituals emerges that we call religion.
Modern science has provided a way to systematically test the validity of our memes and ensure only the ones that represent fundamental truth about reality are able to replicate. It is not always possible to test and prove the emotional efficacy of any belief that was produced via genetic algorithm, just as it is not always possible to get an AI to explain how it arrived at a novel solution. But science has made tremendous progress in this regard in the last few decades, and has produced just as much evidence proving the benefits of many core religious beliefs and rituals as it has debunked the pseudoscientific interpretations of their followers. The level of understanding we have is quite robust, and now surpasses the intuitive understanding of human emotional life and society that religion has always had. However, this point was reached after most people alive today completed their education, so a conscious effort to teach and learn these prerequisite concepts will be required to share this understanding with others.
Every Word Evokes a New Idea
The wiki concept highlights the fact that our words are connected a whole world of ideas, and each one evokes not just its definition but all of the concepts associated with the words in that definition, every story we've heard that references it, and every memory we have that relates to it.
This is the power of poetry, especially in scripture. It is not rational, it is an emotional language that plays on our associations and collective memories to create inspiration, wonder, and love of life. Unfortunately, scripture is the only form of poetry that people interpret literally.
The original, hyperlinked Internet that Wikipedia is the embodiment of is the closest we have come to a storytelling medium that actually represents the way humans think. Authors that wish to tackle complex, multidisciplinary subjects would do well to consider the wiki platform over books and blogs.
Dawkins on Memes (and that's it)
Richard Dawkins original work on the idea of the meme as a self-replicating cultural concept is by far his best. It's been slowly but steadily downhill ever since, unfortunately. But this highlights the importance of a central concept to this wiki--the need to separate ideas from authorship. Everyone has a good idea, and everyone does something that others find reprehensible. If we abandoned every good idea that was thought of by an occasional asshole, we would still be in the stone age.