RoboticSilence said:
Your argument is that memes cannot truly evolve (towards greater complexity) because the complexity is contingent on biological capacity rather than sociological (i.e. internet vs. letters/newspaper)? What would you define that sort of evolution as? "Progress" (  )?
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That is a very interesting and challenging example for me to counter.
It is certainly an advancement of technology. Is the
idea of the internet itself, though, more complex than the idea of a letter? Perhaps.
Technology is tangible. It can be measured. I would say that the internet is certainly more complex than letters and newspapers. I'm not sure about the idea of the internet itself, though, if that makes any sense.
I might concede that this may be one genuine example of memetic as well as technological evolution. However, when memetic evolution is applied to things more abstract, such as customs, languages, and scientific theories then it is much harder to label.
This one is a bit puzzling, though. I'll think about it and get back to you in more detail tomorrow.