With all apologies to Mr. Dodgson, Mr. Norris, and Mr. Freud:
Self-reference is a tricky thing.
I have a copy of Hofstadter’s Gödel, Escher, Bach up above me, so close that even now, as I write this, I could reach out and touch it. The book is the magnum opus of self-reference. After reading it, I can no longer think about thinking the same way again, in more ways than one. I can no longer even use the word “I” without thinking about thinking and thinking about Gödel, Escher, Bach.
But I digress, dear reader. I am not here to talk about self-reference; I am here to talk about memes. Memes are said to be the social equivalent of genes, little units of information passed on from one individual or group of individuals to another. Memes can be jokes, catch phrases, melodies, fads, philosophic notions, methods of government, artistic movements, religions, and just about anything else.
Memes come from just about everywhere. Some memes are borrowed from other languages, such as “über” from German or “kawaii” from Japanese. Some memes are taken from bad translations from other languages, like “All your base are belong to us.” Some memes are shorthand (“OMG”) and some are based on mistyping (“ZOMG”). Some are based on popular people, movies, books, or characters: Chuck Norris is a meme, for instance. Some memes are subculture specific: Barrens chat does not have much meaning to those who have never played World of Warcraft.
But here I have told a lie (and this statement too is false): I do wish to talk about self-reference.
You see, meming itself has become a meme, or rather, a metameme. The net generation has become so infatuated with memes – just as previous generations had their yo-yos or jazz – that meming has become a fad.
The consequences are rather dire. After all, metamemes are self-referential. They break down the basic rules of memes: whereas a meme might grow from its ease of remembrance and social appeal, metamemes might grow from people’s desires to meddle in social appeal.
I have already noticed a few metamemes in their more basic, banal form. Some bloggers post question lists (or “What is your gangster name?”-style entries) and at the bottom tag on the line, “Post this on your journal/blog/webpage”. Some have even completed the self-referential loop and instead written, “Post this meme on your journal/blog/webpage”. I have even seen an artist draw a single-panel cartoon, drop in two empty word-bubbles, and say, “Make your own meme!”
The most subtle metamemes are also the most annoying. In this case, people take regular memes, or even things which haven’t reached meme status yet, and overuse them until they do, or alternately stop using them until they disappear from the social consciousness. It is one thing for people to use leet-speak online for a laugh; it is quite another for people to use leet-speak just because it is a meme. Suddenly the word meme has become a meme just like “LOL” or “kawaii,” with all the connotations, good and bad, which it implies.
It’s an odd combination. On the one hand I’m attracted to the mathematical beauty of the ever self-referencing metamemes, and on the other hand the romantic in me just wants things to be the way they are. While I’m all for people being more thoughtful, I just want to stop it all and shout, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar!”
I look up to my shelf again and there, not two books down from Hofstadter is a collection of Zen poetry. I take it down, flip through a few, and am calmed. They take me out of my cluttered thoughts and remind me that not everything must exist as an either/or choice of complexity or simplicity.
Metamemes are just memes after all, and I do enjoy watching the development of a good meme. I have probably even had my hand in propagating a few. So I think I will sit back and enjoy this new meme as I have previous ones. Yes, it can be annoying at times, but that too will pass.
Still, if I am allowed one bit of selfishness in this moment of Zen peace, it would be this: I want fewer Chuck Norris fans in Barrens chat.
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