The virus also had enough variability to evolve. 4 Most memes do not involve computers. For instance, religious beliefs constitute a cluster of memes that are passed to you from parents and teachers. You, in turn, will pass them to your children. These religious thoughts have proven durable and valuable.
Genetic theory suggests that the only useful behavior is one that makes babies.
However, there are situations in which memes for religious beliefs contradict the genetic imperative of survival. For example, martyrdom or celibacy preclude biological reproduction but the community of the faithful may consider a martyr or celibate a worthy role model. One of my favorite memes shows up in a Mark Twain short story written a century ago, Punch, Brothers, Punch . It reveals a jingle that, once learned, Is such a strong meme that it drives every other thought out of your head. The spell can only be broken by teaching the jingle to someone else at which point the curse is transferred to the unlucky listener.