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rdf:type |
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lifeskim:mentions |
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pubmed:issue |
1547
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pubmed:dateCreated |
2004-8-12
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pubmed:abstractText |
We show that the frequency distributions of cultural variants, in three different real-world examples--first names, archaeological pottery and applications for technology patents--follow power laws that can be explained by a simple model of random drift. We conclude that cultural and economic choices often reflect a decision process that is value-neutral; this result has far-reaching testable implications for social-science research.
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pubmed:commentsCorrections |
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pubmed:language |
eng
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pubmed:journal |
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pubmed:citationSubset |
IM
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pubmed:status |
MEDLINE
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pubmed:month |
Jul
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pubmed:issn |
0962-8452
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pubmed:author |
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pubmed:copyrightInfo |
Copyright 2004 The Royal Society
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pubmed:issnType |
Print
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pubmed:day |
22
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pubmed:volume |
271
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pubmed:owner |
NLM
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pubmed:authorsComplete |
Y
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pubmed:pagination |
1443-50
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pubmed:dateRevised |
2010-9-21
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pubmed:meshHeading |
pubmed-meshheading:15306315-Computer Simulation,
pubmed-meshheading:15306315-Cultural Evolution,
pubmed-meshheading:15306315-Decision Theory,
pubmed-meshheading:15306315-Humans,
pubmed-meshheading:15306315-Manufactured Materials,
pubmed-meshheading:15306315-Models, Theoretical,
pubmed-meshheading:15306315-Names,
pubmed-meshheading:15306315-Patents as Topic,
pubmed-meshheading:15306315-Social Sciences,
pubmed-meshheading:15306315-Statistical Distributions,
pubmed-meshheading:15306315-Stochastic Processes
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pubmed:year |
2004
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pubmed:articleTitle |
Random drift and culture change.
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pubmed:affiliation |
AHRB Centre for the Evolutionary Analysis of Cultural Behaviour, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK. r.bentley@ucl.ac.uk
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pubmed:publicationType |
Journal Article,
Comparative Study
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