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独白：请听一段社会学课上的演讲。

Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a sociology class.

教授：你是否有听过生活于纽约下水道的短吻鳄的故事？

Professor: Have you ever heard the one about alligators living in New York sewers?

内容是这样的：有一家人在佛罗里达度假之后，给家里的小孩儿带回了几只短吻鳄作为礼物，回到纽约后，把这几只小短吻鳄当做宠物养着。

The story goes like this: a family went on vacation in Florida and bought a couple of baby alligators as presents for their children, then returned from vacation to New York, bringing the alligators home with them as pets.

然而短吻鳄会逃走并找到回去纽约下水道的路，在那里开始繁殖长成大短吻鳄，现在下水道工人也心有余悸。

But the alligators would escape and find their way into the New York sewer system where they started reproducing, grew to huge sizes and now strike fear into sewer workers.

好吧，这不是真实的，从未发生过。

Well, it isn't true and it never happened.

尽管如此，该故事自20世纪30年代就已传开来了。

But despite that, the story has been around since the 1930s.

抑或是这首歌闪闪的星星，是这样唱的：一闪一闪亮晶晶，满天都是小星星。

Or how about the song “twinkle, twinkle little star” you know, “twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are“.

这个故事和这首歌都是用来介绍模因的两个例子。

Well, both the song and the story are examples of memes.

这就是我们要讲的，模因理论。

And that's what we would talk about, the theory of memes.

模因被定义为人与人之间所复制的一则信息。

A meme is defined as a piece of information copied from person to person.

根据这个定义，我们所知道的，想法，技巧，故事和歌曲都可以是模因。

By this definition, most of what you know, ideas, skills, stories, songs are memes.

所有你所学的单词和科学理论，父母教你观察事物的规律，这些都是人与人之间所传递的模因。

All the words you know, all the scientific theories you've learned, the rules your parents taught you to observe, all are memes that have been passed on from person to person.

想法在人与人之间传递的事情已经不是什么新鲜事了。

Passing on ideas from one person to another is nothing new.

将这种人们熟悉的过程定义为模因的传递的重点在于我们能够可以将它与基因的传递相类比。

Well, the whole point of defining this familiar process as transmission of memes is so that we can explore its analogy with the transmission of genes.

众所周知，所有生物都是通过基因将生物信息传递下去。

As you know, all living organisms pass on biological information through the genes.

基因是不断复制和重复的生物信息，所有信息被传递到下一代中去。

A gene is a piece of biological information that gets copied or replicated, and the copy or replica is passed on to the new generation.

基因是将包含生物性质和特征的信息传递到下一代的复制器。

Genes are replicators that pass on information about properties and characteristics of organisms.

通过类比，我们知道模因也是通过复制并把文化信息在同一时代和不同时代的人之间传递下去。

By analogy, memes also get replicated and in the process pass on cultural information from person to person, generation to generation.

成功的复制器必须具备三个关键特征：寿命长，繁殖力好和准确性强。

To be a successful replicator, there are three key characteristics: longevity, fecundity and fidelity.

复制器存活的时间必须足够长才能得到复制和将信息传递并转移出去。

A replicator must exist long enough to be able to get copied, and transfer its information.

很明显，复制器存活的越久，其信息得到复制和传递的几率就越大。

Clearly, the longer a replicator survives, the better its chances of getting its message copied and passed on.

因此寿命长是复制器的关键特征。

So longevity is a key characteristic of a replicator.

就短吻鳄的故事来说，它能在个人记忆中存在很久的时间，比如说我的记忆。

If you take the alligator story, it can exist for a long time in individual memory, let's say, my memory.

现在甚至十年后我都可以跟你讲这个故事，闪闪的星星这首歌也是一样的。

I can tell you the story now or ten years from now, the same with the twinkle, twinkle song.

由于各种原因我们记住了这些模因，他们因此具有长的寿命。

So these memes have longevity because they are memorable for one reason or another.

繁殖能力指的是大量繁殖后代的能力。

Fecundity is the ability to reproduce in large numbers.

比如，普通的苍蝇通过产下几千颗蛋繁殖后代，这样每只苍蝇的基因就被复制了上千遍。

For example, the common housefly reproduces by laying several thousand eggs, so each fly gene gets copied thousands of times.

Memes, well, they can be reproduced in large numbers as well.

你对别人唱过多少次闪闪的星星这首歌？

How many times have you sung the“twinkle, twinkle song” to someone?

通过不断重复，有时候你可能将歌声传到某些从未听过的人耳里，也许是一个小孩儿。

Each time you replicated the song, and maybe passed it along to someone who did not know it yet, a small child maybe.

准确性指的是复制过程的准确性。

Fidelity means accuracy of the copying process.

我们知道基因的传递过程中准确性是一个核心的原则。

We know fidelity is an essential principle of genetic transmission.

如果复制的基因跟原来的基因有一点不同，就产生了基因突变，

If a copy of a gene is a bit different from the original, that's called a genetic mutation.

如果出现基因突变，生物是不能存活下去的。

An organism often cannot survive with a mutated gene.

因此基因经常不能传递下去，除非是准确的复制。

And so a gene usually cannot be passed on, unless it's an exact copy.

然而，对于模因来说，准确性却不是很重要的因素。

For memes however, fidelity is not always so important.

比如，你对某人讲述了今天我跟你说的短吻鳄的故事，你不能做到一字不漏。

For example, if you tell someone the alligator story I told you today, it probably won't be word for word exactly as I said it.

但是故事的基本内容不变，因此听到改故事的人也能继续传递下去。

Still, it will be basically the same story, and the person who hears the story will be able to pass it along.

其他模因则需要较高的准确性进行复制，比如闪闪的星星这首歌。

Other memes are replicated with higher fidelity though, like the twinkle, twinkle song.

现在人们传唱的歌词跟20年前的一模一样。

It had the exact same words 20 years ago as it does now.

这是因为我们认为歌曲的传唱每次都应该准确无误。

Well, that's because we see songs as something that has to be performed accurately each time.

如果改变了一句歌词，别人通常都会纠正你

If you change a word, the others will usually bring you in line.

其他人会对你说，你唱错了，是吗？

They'll say, “that's not how you sing it”, right?

从这些例子你现在明白了怎么将各种文化信息当做是复制者，即模因来看待。同时就寿命长，繁殖力强和准确性高的标准来分析模因。我们能因此了解到他们传递，保持或改变的规律。

So, you can see how looking at pieces of cultural information as replicators, as memes, and analyzing them in terms of longevity, fecundity and fidelity, we can gain some insight about how they spread, persist or change.

Why does the professor tell the story about alligators?

According to the professor, which of the following are examples of meme transfer?

What example does the professor give of a meme's longevity?

What does the professor compare to a housefly laying many eggs?

Narrator 
Listen to part of a lecture in a sociology class. 
Professor: 
Have you ever heard the one about alligators living in New York sewers? The story goes like this: a family went on vacation in Florida and bought a couple of baby alligators as presents for their children, then returned from vacation to New York, bringing the alligators home with them as pets. But the alligators would escape and find their way into the New York sewer system where they started reproducing, grew to huge sizes and now strike fear into sewer workers. Have you heard this story? Well, it isn’t true and it never happened. But despite that, the story has been around since the 1930s. 
Or how about the song ‘twinkle, twinkle little star’, you know, ‘twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are’. Well we’ve all heard this song. Where am I going with this? Well, both the song and the story are examples of memes. 
And that’s what we would talk about, the theory of memes. 
A meme is defined as a piece of information copied from person to person. 
Professor: 
Have you ever heard the one about alligators living in New York sewers? The story goes like this: a family went on vacation in Florida and bought a couple of baby alligators as presents for their children, then returned from vacation to New York, bringing the alligators home with them as pets. But the alligators would escape and find their way into the New York sewer system where they started reproducing, grew to huge sizes and now strike fear into sewer workers. Have you heard this story? Well, it isn’t true and it never happened. But despite that, the story has been around since the 1930s. 
Or how about the song ‘twinkle, twinkle little star’, you know, ‘twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are’. Well we’ve all heard this song. Where am I going with this? Well, both the song and the story are examples of memes. 
And that’s what we would talk about, the theory of memes. 
A meme is defined as a piece of information copied from person to person. By this definition, most of what you know, ideas, skills, stories, songs are memes. All the words you know, all the scientific theories you’ve learned, the rules your parents taught you to observe, all are memes that have been passed on from person to person. 
So what? You may say. Passing on ideas from one person to another is nothing new. Well, the whole point of defining this familiar process as transmission of memes is so that we can explore its analogy with the transmission of genes. As you know, all living organisms pass on biological information through the genes. What’s a gene? A gene is a piece of biological information that gets copied or replicated, and the copy or replica is passed on to the new generation. So genes are defined as replicators. Genes are replicators that pass on information about properties and characteristics of organisms. By analogy, memes also get replicated and in the process pass on cultural information from person to person, generation to generation. 
So memes are also replicators. 
To be a successful replicator, there are three key characteristics: longevity, fecundity and fidelity. Let’s take a closer look. 
First, longevity. A replicator must exist long enough to be able to get copied, and transfer its information. Clearly, the longer a replicator survives, the better its chances of getting its message copied and passed on. So longevity is a key characteristic of a replicator. If you take the alligator story, it can exist for a long time in individual memory, let’s say, my memory. I can tell you the story now or ten years from now, the same with the twinkle, twinkle song. So these memes have longevity because they are memorable for one reason or another. 
Next, fecundity. Fecundity is the ability to reproduce in large numbers. For example, the common housefly reproduces by laying several thousand eggs, so each fly gene gets copied thousands of times. Memes, well, they can be reproduced in large numbers as well. How many times have you sung the‘twinkle, twinkle song’ to someone? Each time you replicated that song, and maybe passed it along to someone who did not know it yet, a small child maybe. 
And finally, fidelity. Fidelity means accuracy of the copying process. We know fidelity is an essential principle of genetic transmission. If a copy of a gene is a bit different from the original, that’s called a genetic mutation. And mutations are usually bad news. An organism often cannot survive with a mutated gene. And so a gene usually cannot be passed on, unless it’s an exact copy. For memes however, fidelity is not always so important. For example, if you tell someone the alligator story I told you today, it probably won’t be word for word exactly as I said it. Still, it will be basically the same story, and the person who hears the story will be able to pass it along. 
Other memes are replicated with higher fidelity though, like the twinkle, twinkle song. It had the exact same words 20 years ago as it does now. Well, that’s because we see songs as something that has to be performed accurately each time. If you change a word, the others will usually bring you in line. They’ll say, ‘that’s not how you sing it’, right? 
So, you can see how looking at pieces of cultural information as replicators, as memes, and analyzing them in terms of longevity, fecundity and fidelity, we can gain some insight about how they spread, persist or change