A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another. – Dictionary.com
A unit of intellectual or cultural information that survives long enough to be recognized as such, and which can pass from mind to mind. – Richard Dawkins [The Selfish Gene]
Ideas that spread through popular culture like a virus - unknown
Call to action
There is a meme making the rounds of blog-space. Here are the steps to take if you want to follow it.
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
Comments
I’m not sure what to make of blog memes. After reading several blogs today with posts about the ‘page 23′ meme I’m starting to think there might be two categories. First is the real deal, the ideas that start a buzz and then everyone wants to talk about it. These ideas quickly dominate the blog-space. Second are the contrived versions. Someone thinks of a task – let’s say post the names of your last three pets, and implores the blog authors to participate. This second type reminds of those noxious emails that used to make the show up in your inbox. You know the ones: read this uplifting piece and send to your closest friends. Oh, and do it now, or bad luck will descend upon you. Perhaps the blog equivalent is an admonition to follow a meme script and post your results for the world to see. Some that I have seen recently are:
- Turn on your MP3 player. Select shuffle. Post the first five songs – no matter how embarrassing.
- Name the last three companies you worked for.
My Meme Results
I decided to try the page 23 meme.
The first book I grabbed was Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston. Guess what? Page 23 is a title page and doesn’t have more than one sentence. I grabbed the next book in the pile and I ended up with this from Software Craftsmanship – The New Imperative
I am not implying that eXtreme Programming is a bad process.