Thus a culture is in practice defined not by a set of strictly identical memes, but by a set of variants that cause slightly different characteristic behaviours. Some variants tend to have the effect that their holders are eager to enact or talk about them, others less so. Some are easier than others for potential recipients to replicate in their

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I’ve been thinking a lot about what is (or is not) a trend . Merriam-Webster defines “trend” as “the general movement over time of a statistically detectable change.” If fashion publications are all eagerly covering a particular item or style, thus causing a “statistically detectable change” in how much coverage something is getting, does that make... See more