--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As for memes, the word 'meme' is a…" description: "\"As for memes, the word 'meme' is a cliche, which is to say it's already a meme. We all hear it all the time, and maybe we even have started to use it i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/james-gleick-2623_analog_as-for-memes-the-word-meme-is-a-cliche-w_2369579.jpg" --- # As for memes, the word 'meme' is a cliche, which is to say… ![“As for memes, the word 'meme' is a cliche, which is to say it's already a meme. We all hear it all the time, and maybe we even have started to use it in ordinary speech. The man who invented it was Richard Dawkins, who was, not coincidentally, an evolutionary biologist. And he invented it as an…” quote by James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/james-gleick-2623_analog_as-for-memes-the-word-meme-is-a-cliche-w_2369579.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/james-gleick-2623_analog_as-for-memes-the-word-meme-is-a-cliche-w_2369579.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/james-gleick-2623_analog_as-for-memes-the-word-meme-is-a-cliche-w_2369579.jpg) > “As for memes, the word 'meme' is a cliche, which is to say it's already a meme. We all hear it all the time, and maybe we even have started to use it in ordinary speech. The man who invented it was Richard Dawkins, who was, not coincidentally, an evolutionary biologist. And he invented it as an analog for the gene.” [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The term “meme” has become a cliché, yet it originally described cultural ideas spreading like genes, a concept from evolutionary biology. **In simple terms:** Meme means cultural idea spreading. Key Takeaway Notice how words become memes. Themes language culture evolutionary theory Mood analytical curious Type informative critical When to use this quote - social media - marketing - education - academic research Key Concepts memetics information theory viral content Questions to Reflect On - How does a meme’s spread affect its original intent? - Can memes be used responsibly? A Different Perspective Overuse can dilute original meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biologist/) [Cliche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliche/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Gene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gene/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Meme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meme/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [In the original introduction to the word meme in the last chapter of 'The Selfish Gene,' I did actually use the metaphor of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/in-the-original-introduction-to-the-word-meme-in-the-last-chapter-of/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976 coined the term ‘meme’ for a unit of cultural imitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-ridley/the-evolutionary-biologist-richard-dawkins-in-1976-coined-the-term/) [Matt Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-ridley/) > [We need a name for the new replicator, a noun that conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-need-a-name-for-the-new-replicator-a-noun-that-conveys-the-idea-of/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Memes can be visual. Our image of George Washington is a meme. We don't actually have any idea what George Washington looked like. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/memes-can-be-visual-our-image-of-george-washington-is-a-meme-we-don-t/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“Evolution itself embodies an ongoing exchange of information between organism and environment … The gene has its cultural analog, too: the meme. In cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/evolution-itself-embodies-an-ongoing-exchange-of-information-between/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [I agree with people like Richard Dawkins that mankind felt the need for creation myths. Before we really began to understand disease and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-agree-with-people-like-richard-dawkins-that-mankind-felt-the-need/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Much as I like and admire Richard Dawkins, I do think that to call a book 'The God Delusion' is very worrying because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-winston/much-as-i-like-and-admire-richard-dawkins-i-do-think-that-to-call-a/) [Robert Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-winston/) > [“One of Richard Dawkins’s main God Delusion arguments is that, if God created everything, we would have to ask who created God. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-lennox/one-of-richard-dawkins-s-main-god-delusion-arguments-is-that-if-god/) [John C. Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-lennox/) > [“Richard Dawkins and his followers have recycled the theory of evolution not as a biological theory but as a theory of everything – of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/richard-dawkins-and-his-followers-have-recycled-the-theory-of/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Atheism is a moral position - a rather rigid one, if you've ever read the opinions of its highest-profile espousers, Christopher Hitchens and Richard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/atheism-is-a-moral-position-a-rather-rigid-one-if-you-ve-ever-read/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [“Among the required reading for all PUAs were books on evolutionary theory: The Red Queen by Matt Ridley, The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-strauss/among-the-required-reading-for-all-puas-were-books-on-evolutionary/) [Neil Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-strauss/) > [“A saving grace of the human condition (if I may phrase it like that) is a sense of humor. Many writers and witnesses, guessing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/a-saving-grace-of-the-human-condition-if-i-may-phrase-it-like-that-is/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“The funny thing is if in England, you ask a man in the street who the greatest living Darwinian is, he will say Richard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mayr/the-funny-thing-is-if-in-england-you-ask-a-man-in-the-street-who-the/) [Ernst Mayr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mayr/) > [Atheism Explained is a gem. It is clear, informative, well-argued, provocative, often witty, and unfailingly interesting. David Ramsay Steele ranges over so many issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-shearmur/atheism-explained-is-a-gem-it-is-clear-informative-well-argued/) Jeremy Shearmur > [“Richard Dawkins regards faith as an evil to be eliminated; he takes all religious faith to be blind faith. (Dawkins says) ‘Scientific belief is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennox/richard-dawkins-regards-faith-as-an-evil-to-be-eliminated-he-takes/) [John Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennox/) ## More by James Gleick > [When the Lilliputians first saw Gulliver's watch, that "wonderful kind of engine...a globe, half silver and half of some transparent metal," they identified it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/when-the-lilliputians-first-saw-gulliver-s-watch-that-wonderful-kind/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [You know, entropy is associated thermodynamically, in systems involving heat, with disorder. And in an analogous way, information is associated with disorder, which seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/you-know-entropy-is-associated-thermodynamically-in-systems-involving/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“No one has even a definitive spelling for Cawdrey’s name (Cowdrey, Cawdry). But then, no one agreed on the spelling of most names: they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/no-one-has-even-a-definitive-spelling-for-cawdrey-s-name-cowdrey/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“Where, then, is any particular gene—say, the gene for long legs in humans? This is a little like asking where is Beethoven’s Piano Sonata…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/where-then-is-any-particular-gene-say-the-gene-for-long-legs-in/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [Alphabetical order had to be invented to help people organize the first dictionaries. On the other hand, we may have reached a point where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/alphabetical-order-had-to-be-invented-to-help-people-organize-the/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [As a technology, the book is like a hammer. That is to say, it is perfect: a tool ideally suited to its task. Hammers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/as-a-technology-the-book-is-like-a-hammer-that-is-to-say-it-is/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [The universe is computing its own destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/the-universe-is-computing-its-own-destiny/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [A book is not necessarily made of paper. A book is not necessarily made to be read on a Kindle. A book is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/a-book-is-not-necessarily-made-of-paper-a-book-is-not-necessarily/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“From this point of view, the laws of science represent data compression in action. A theoretical physicist acts like a very clever coding algorithm.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/from-this-point-of-view-the-laws-of-science-represent-data/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [Children and scientists share an outlook on life. If I do this, what will happen? is both the motto of the child at play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/children-and-scientists-share-an-outlook-on-life-if-i-do-this-what/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“Your body moves always in the present, the dividing line between the past and the future, but your mind is more free. It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/your-body-moves-always-in-the-present-the-dividing-line-between-the/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [People worry about Twitter. Twitter is banal. It's 140-character messages. By definition, you can hardly say anything profound. On the other hand, we communicate.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/people-worry-about-twitter-twitter-is-banal-it-s-140-character/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“The Difference Engine stands—for a replica works today, in the Science Museum in London—as a milestone of what could be achieved in precision engineering.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/the-difference-engine-stands-for-a-replica-works-today-in-the-science/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [It is significant that one says book lover and music lover and art lover but not record lover or CD lover or, conversely, text…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/it-is-significant-that-one-says-book-lover-and-music-lover-and-art/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“quoting Tolstoy: “I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/quoting-tolstoy-i-know-that-most-men-including-those-at-ease-with/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) [Explore all 157 James Gleick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) ## More Analog quotes > [There are historical analogs, which are not exact, of course, but are close enough to be worrisome. 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And I take audio and move it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-hecker/i-work-with-digital-audio-which-is-like-sculpting-a-form-of-chiseling/) [Tim Hecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-hecker/) > [“But analog photography peaked in 2000.2”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/but-analog-photography-peaked-in-2000-2/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [You can't live in the digital and die in the analog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/you-can-t-live-in-the-digital-and-die-in-the-analog/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [I started getting back into buying old analog gear while we were recording. Lots of old drum machines and synths. It wasn't a conscious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gore/i-started-getting-back-into-buying-old-analog-gear-while-we-were/) [Martin Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gore/) > [“Apart from live performance, vinyl analog recordings were Georgiou’s favorite way to enjoy music. Rich, warm, and so eerily present—that was the enduring appeal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mack/apart-from-live-performance-vinyl-analog-recordings-were-georgiou-s/) [David Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mack/) > [I'm a very tactile learner, so I need analog index cards, moving them all about, trying out various sequences for the book's architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/i-m-a-very-tactile-learner-so-i-need-analog-index-cards-moving-them/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [Oddly enough, Black Panther's almost like an analog to Tarzan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-stelfreeze/oddly-enough-black-panther-s-almost-like-an-analog-to-tarzan/) [Brian Stelfreeze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-stelfreeze/) > [As so much music is listened to via MP3 download, many will never experience the joy of analog playback, and for them, I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/as-so-much-music-is-listened-to-via-mp3-download-many-will-never/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [But the rhythm of the mix tape is the rhythm of romance, the analog hum of a physical connection between two sloppy, human bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/but-the-rhythm-of-the-mix-tape-is-the-rhythm-of-romance-the-analog/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [I'm not on any social media. 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