Is a gene of an extinct insect, that’s been conserved inside a piece of amber for thousands of years, surviving in the same sense that the gene for red hair in humans is surviving? Is a meme such as “The Earth is flat” surviving in the same sense that a meme such as “God created Earth” is surviving?

Is a meme immortal purely by virtue of us keeping a record of it for historical purposes or does it have to play an active role in our collective consciousness and be subject to evolution? I think the latter is the case.

Going back to Shakespeare, though, the idea that ideas outlive people, and that words can give people a measure of immortality definitely predates the internet.

Shakespeare himself is a perfect example. Most of the physical paper he wrote on and the ink he used is long gone, but the words will always be preserved.

Here’s the wiki entry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive

I also had that same book on my “to-read” list for quite some time, guess I was saving it for when we actually get to be immortal.

That book is actually on my short-list of books I want to read. I’ll go ahead and bump it to the top