It seems sufficient to acknowledge that virality is a property of ideas. We can then continue using a single term to reference the notion of an 'idea'.

>virality is a property of ideas

It's only a property of some ideas. People have self-contained ideas all the time, including ideas they're inclined to absolutely keep to themselves.

Virality isn't a boolean property that's true for a distinct class of ideas, it's a probability of transmission.

Not telling anyone your ideas is like a mountaintop hermit not spreading a new viral strain.

Is your comment different than saying "some ideas are catchier than others"?

>Is your comment different than saying "some ideas are catchier than others"?

No, and that's the whole point.

Since "some ideas are catchier than others", ideas are superset of memes.

Memes being, precisely, the ideas with higher virality.

Ideas with low or zero virality are not memes.

The field of virology doesn't draw a line in the sand excluding certain viruses with low transmission rates. Viruses that are more transmissible simply draw the attention of the field.

Presumably, a scientific study of ideas would observe ideas commonly transmitted in the wild.

>The field of virology doesn't draw a line in the sand excluding certain viruses with low transmission rates. Viruses that are more transmissible simply draw the attention of the field.

The field of meme-ology however does. So there's that.