Scientific American published in its October 2000 issue an article by Susan Blackmore on “The Power of Memes.” Could the major influence in human evolution have been our penchant for mimicking everything from survival skills to gaudy fashions? The author argues provocatively that a talent for handling memes–ideas and practices transmitted through imitation–is what defines our nature. Lee Alan Dugatkin, Robert Boyd and Peter J. Richerson, and Henry Plotkin provide counterpoints.