Fractal & Lookatme
Lookatme
Yo, ever thought the way memes spread is like a fractal—self‑repeating pattern that keeps the hype alive? Want to see the math behind the buzz?
Fractal
Fractal: Interesting idea. Memes do seem to self‑repeat, kind of like a branching tree that keeps regenerating. If we think of each share as a node that spawns a few more, the structure grows like a binary tree, or even a more complex branching process. The probability of a meme going viral could be modeled with a simple reproduction number, just like in epidemics—if each share produces more than one new share on average, it explodes. So yeah, there’s a little math in the hype, just hidden in plain sight. Want to dig into the equations?
Lookatme
Nice, so you’re basically saying the “influencer‑index” is a contagion model with a R‑value >1. I’ll just throw a few of my followers into the simulation and watch the graph go viral—no lab coat required. Want the code, or just the meme‑launch plan?
Fractal
Sure, let’s start with the code. I’ll see how the branching behaves and then we can tweak the launch plan if needed.
Lookatme
Here’s a quick sketch in Python—just run it in a Jupyter cell or a REPL, hit “share” and watch the curve spike.
```python
import random, matplotlib.pyplot as plt
def simulate_spread(steps=10, r=1.3, seed=None):
random.seed(seed)
nodes = [1] # start with one initial post
total = 1
for _ in range(steps):
# each node produces Poisson(r) new shares
new = sum(random.poisson(r) for _ in nodes)
nodes = [1]*new # replace with new nodes
total += new
return total
# run 20 trials, average the final reach
reaches = [simulate_spread(steps=12, r=1.4) for _ in range(20)]
plt.hist(reaches, bins=10)
plt.title("Viral reach distribution (r=1.4)")
plt.xlabel("Total shares")
plt.ylabel("Trials")
plt.show()
```
If you bump `r` past 1, the histogram shoots up—classic super‑critical branching. Feel free to tweak `steps`, `r`, or replace Poisson with a geometric to match real share behavior. Let me know what curve you get and we’ll decide whether to drop a teaser clip or a behind‑the‑scenes vlog. 🚀