We know “memes” as funny dog pictures or viral dance videos, infectious bits of culture that are everywhere, from social media to conversations with friends. But turns out that memes have existed since the beginning of humans, and are one of the superpowers. This is the story of why a meme is called a meme .
Richard Dawkins, the British scientist coined the term “meme” in his 1976 book "The Selfish Gene." It derives from the Greek word mimēma , meaning that which is imitated, and was shortened to “meme” to sound similar to “gene.” Just as genes are tiny units carrying biological information from generation to generation, Dawkins introduced memes as the cultural equivalent.
A "meme" could be a catchy tune, a fashion trend, or even a religious belief—anything that spreads from person to person and influences our collective behavior. Someone posts a funny picture with a clever caption on social media. It makes you laugh, so you share it. Your friends find it hilarious, too, and pass it on. Before you know it, variations of that original meme are popping up everywhere. It has successfully "reproduced," just like a successful gene would, jumping from one person's mind to another, adapting and evolving along the way.
One of the key differences between memes and genes is that memes can evolve much faster than genes, given that any human can manipulate and create one. The word meme itself is a great example of meme, starting in academia and becoming one of the most popular words globally, shaping the world one shared idea at a time.
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