Part one of term paper
A "meme" is an idea which can be passed from person to person, the basic unit of cultural transmission. Memes are often analogized to genes, as self replicating information patterns; or to viruses, organic or computer, which prosper by infecting new hosts (in this case human minds) with copies of themselves. The term was invented by Richard ...

Part two of term paper
... for elders, nodding to say yes, French, Beethoven's Fifth symphony.... Dawkins believed that ideas, habits, behavioral norms etc undergo the same evolutionary struggle and adaptation that the genes in Darwin's Galapagos beasts underwent. A meme, therefore is a unit of cultural transmission, struggling to keep a place in an ever changing world. How do memes work ? Think of your mind as an environment. A new idea arrives: "make your own bread with a breadmaker." Your neighbor’s mind environ ...