memetics and todays lecture

After researching the topic further, I do agree with Richard Dawkins theory of memetics that was discussed in class, and I think it plays a role in many different disciplines throughout society today. To me it seems very much based on socialization factors that I personally feel play a huge role in our lives, and they commonly influence our attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. I thought that by relating the concept to viruses was a good and simple way to understand the theory, and I think it can help us to understand the variations that we see across the globe.
Although I think memetics plays a role in explaining the general increase of certain religions such as Islam and Christianity, I’m not sure how we can explain the great diversity that still remains given the highly globalized world that we live in today. For example, individuals across the world are these days exposed to similar cultural outlets, yet the beliefs they hold still have extreme variations within them. Therefore I’m not sure how much memetics can be used to explain cultural progression, and although it probably does play some role in human evolution I think that scientific factors are involved as well.
Overall, I see that memetics should be used primarily as a good theory to support the reason why things become popular even if they are not necessarily proven or true. These days, I think that many people become consumed with the images they see, and therefore they believe that anything they are told must be true. In this sense I think humans are often very naïve, and find it easier just to accept a theory, rather than question or reject it.