Richard Dawkins
Memetics is the theoretical underpinning of a statistical research exercise at WCC. This study is setting out to establish which teams at World Cup 2010 will be shaped by the best ideas.
The science of memetics asserts that human behaviour and culture are shaped by memes. Richard Dawkins coined the term ‘meme’ in his book The Selfish Gene to demonstrate how ideas might be transmitted between people via a process that is analogous to genetic transmission. Whereas genes are passed from parent to offspring genetically by sexual intercourse, memes are passed from person to person via social interaction and communication. The meme is a unit of culture, which spreads between people as it is replicated between human brains. This relates to an epidemiological perspective of cultural transmission in which ideas can spread virulently through a population. And like genes, some memes are more successful at replicating than others.
A country which facilitates the effective spread of memes might be expected to have a successful national football team. Whilst memes have causal properties and are capable of replicating between human hosts, environmental context can hinder or assist this process. If advanced ideas on fitness, technique, tactics and strategy spread more quickly in one country in comparison with another, then this could confer competitive advantage.
A factor that may facilitate the spread of ideas is population density. Memes require human brains so that they can replicate: if people live in close proximity this provides a context in which ideas can spread with fecundity between these brains. In a dispersed population with less interaction between people, ideas could remain isolated and localised. Whilst the rise of communication technology has linked hitherto separated populations, the importance of face-to-face contact should not be underplayed. This type of interaction enables a more rounded basis for the transmission of ideas which enables the full emotional complexity of human communication to be conveyed: this increases the chance for memes to replicate with high fidelity.
Whilst the continued importance of face-to-face contact is asserted above, information technology is also a key tool for the transmission of ideas. The internet is a significant resource which can facilitate the spread of memes. Internet access also enables information-sharing that transcends national boundaries: a nation with a high level of access to the web has the means to procure good ideas from around the globe.
To establish which country should enable the most effective transmission/reception of memes, and as a corollary have the best national football team, we have multiplied the number of people per square mile in each country by the number of internet users (per 1000 members of the population). The table below demonstrates these figures [2007 data from Earth Trends]: based on the hypothesis that there is a positive correlation between high meme transmission and high quality football, it seems that Netherlands are nailed on to win the World Cup in South Africa!
*UK figure