Good Grief!

For a long time I’ve been wondering…what are these memes thrown around everywhere in the blogosphere? Frankly, it’s a little embarrasing to admit my meme ignorance, but thanks to Cecil and the Straight Dope, I know I’m not the only one wondering:

The term “meme” (rhymes with “dream”) was coined by zoologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book about evolution, The Selfish Gene. Dawkins doesn’t claim genes are selfish in the same way as, say, kids who won’t share. Rather, he explains, the genes carried by each individual are the driving force behind evolution. As sentient beings we consider ourselves masters of our own fates, but in reality we’re just the battlebots in which competing genes slug it out–determining, through the impersonal workings of natural selection, which will survive.
[snip]
Meme theory proponents argue that, just as we’re the pawns by which our genes compete for dominance, so are we the creatures of our memes. You’ve heard such expressions as “The concept took on a life of its own” or “Never underestimate the power of an idea whose time has come,” right? To memeticists, these aren’t mere conceits but rather reflections of the true state of affairs.

Huh.