science

Memeburn

Memeburn is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Memeburn rather than just read about it. In short: Memeburn is a website that focuses on digital news and events in the emerging markets sphere. Founded by South African entrepreneur Matthew Buckland, the Cape Town-based website focuses on current events in the world of social media, mobile and general technology, and has featured interviews with the likes of WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg, Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley, Evernote CEO Phil…

Key takeaways

Memeburn belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Memeburn to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Memeburn from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Memeburn is a website that focuses on digital news and events in the emerging markets sphere. Founded by South African entrepreneur Matthew Buckland, the Cape Town-based website focuses on current events in the world of social media, mobile and general technology, and has featured interviews with the likes of WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg, Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley, Evernote CEO Phil Libin, the co-creator of Google Now and entrepreneur Richard Branson as well Naspers CEO Koos Bekker, Wired founder Chris Anderson and Stumbleupon CEO Mark Bartels. It is particularly interested in the BRICS, as well as digital innovation, viral online marketing campaigns and general tech trends.

Editorial expansion In 2011, Memeburn expanded to launch Gearburn.com, a sister site which is focused on gadget and game reviews and news and Motorburn.com, which focuses on car news. In 2012, Ventureburn.com was created to focus on entrepreneurship and startups. The sites were rebranded collectively in 2013 as Burn Media. In 2019, the sites underwent a redesign, with the Memeburn, Gearburn, and Motorburn sites operating under the Memeburn.com domain. Ventureburn.com continues to operate as a sister site. Both brands -- Memeburn and Ventureburn -- operate under the Burn Media Group brand.

Awards In 2010, Memeburn was awarded the UCT Graduate School of Business' Best Blog award at the South African Blog Awards, and later won a bronze award for Specialist Publisher Site at the Bookmark Awards.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Memeburn

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Memeburn claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Memeburn before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Memeburn ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Memeburn

In research: Memeburn appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Memeburn in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Memeburn is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Technology websites, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Memeburn outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Memeburn in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Memeburn means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Memeburn out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Memeburn in simple terms?

Why does Memeburn matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Memeburn?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Memeburn.