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Meme Media Technology in Higher Education:
The Recursive Function Theory Case Study
Oksana Arnold and Vincent Reichelt
Erfurt University of Applied Sciences, 99085 Erfurt, Germany
{
oksana.arnold,vincent.reichelt
}
@fh-erfurt.de
Abstract.
Computability theory is highly abstract and very demand-
ing particularly to those students who have defective prior knowledge in
mathematics or feel attracted only by directly applied topics of studies.
However, understanding the foundations of computability is essential to
computer science. Partial recursive functions form some key approach.
Webble implementations of the basic functions of primitive recursion to-
gether with webbles for the basic operations of substitution and primitive
recursion finally completed by the minimum operator provide a memetic
framework for highly interactive, playful studies of computability theory.
Didactically driven refinements of the approach are discussed in detail.
Keywords:
meme media, webble technology, computability theory,
recursive function theory, playful learning.
1 Memetics and Meme Media Technology
Dawkins [4] has coined the term
meme
to name units of non-biological evolution.
Think, just for illustration, of fashion and architecture (see [3] for a large number
of illustrative cases). There is something inherited over decades or even centuries.
Apparently, changes such as mutation and cross-over take place. And all you
know in fashion and architecture is subject to natural selection `alaDarwin[5].
Ideas come and go; only those memes that are fit enough stay for a longer time.
Tanaka [18] has undertaken the endeavor of carrying over Dawkins' seminal
ideas to the digital world where memes may be encapsulated in
meme media
.
The computational power of contemporary computers allows for boosting the
speed of memetic evolution of meme media by implementing the functionalities
of reproduction, mutation, and cross-over taking place when using meme media.
Seen from the perspective of
memetics
, computer and computer networks
as well as human beings working with and manipulating meme media form a
biotope in which the digitalized memes-meme media objects-live and evolve.
Humans unfamiliar with those ideas need some time to adopt the perspective of
memetics.
The present paper is much less philosophical in character. It takes memetics
and meme media technologies according to [18] and [10] as a basis for innovative
applications in teaching certain involved topics of theoretical computer science.
