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Hype and the Hive Mind

The Hive Minds Choice™: Quantifying Hype and understanding its characteristics

Figure 1: objects of extreme hype in Louis Vuitton Runway SS19

In previous Hoppa International Labs discoveries, we considered the following variables when buying clothes:

You can use the above variables to optimize your purchase, we concluded that the most effective strategy in the long term is to

The above strategy is most efficient in the long term, when considering amount of items purchased and perceived style. Surprisingly, we find that even though price is variable, in 37% of cases this strategy is also the most cost effective^[d]. Hype is a factor that has high cost and low durability (both in physical amortization and aesthetic degradation) and should be minimized to conserve energy expulsion.
Optimization figures can be seen below:

In discussing the optimal purchase strategy, we stumbled upon two variables were of interest: style and hype
Style is subjective, and often defined by the individual themselves. There is often a local definition that is adopted by groups of individuals who align on various dimensions. Style is not global though

Hype

Hype is not infinite, but for all intents and purposes it can be treated as such given its scale. One object cannot possess all available hype at one time, there is a constant redistribution of hype occurring such that the max hype is some proportion^[f] (???)

Given Hype X, and number of object N, what is the min/max distribution of hype across those objects?

Hype on an object exponentially decays with time. Perhaps the distribution of Hype across objects is also a power law distribution

First, we acknowledge that both hype and memes are decided by the hive mind. However they possess very different properties:

One notices immediately that although this can be interpreted as a spectrum, in practice Hype and Timeless are pure duality.
An object can only ever be either timeless or hype, it is impossible for it to have a combined state.
This is not to say that an object can not change state. There have been previous observations of a timeless object becoming a hype object (timeless → hype). The most famous being the Daniel Wellington watch. This object assumed the aesthetic of swiss watches, which have been studied and known for stability of aesthetics over 50+ year observation periods. It had two meaningful differences to prior swiss watches:

Minimum viable affordability: finding the ideal price point that is simultaneously expensive and affordable by the middle class
Network Effects: the aesthetic was propagated via social networks to accumulate branding cache and perceived status. Accruing recognition and identity with the Hive Mind.

Crucially, there have been no observed instances of an object changing state from Hype to timeless (hype → timeless), at least within our known universe. There are also no formal proofs that have been identified to date.
Hype → Timeless is a strategic area of interest for Hoppa International
However, there are potential candidates that are being actively studied:

Jordans have been sustaining hype since 1984, slowly approaching the timelessness threshold

Future research direction:^[h]^[i] What is the timelessness threshold? What does it take to go from hype to timeless?

Early efforts to define the Timeless threshold

Similarities to the Secretary Problem, a simple comparison model to earn statistical confidence of an object’s timelessness:

At the highest level, the method is as follows: compare an object’s level of timelessness to previously observed objects. If after 1/e observations you find a more timeless object, that object is completely timeless 37% of the time.
We were able to prove the equation using plain mathematics and applied research. See above.

Related Observations

One can trace instances of an object throughout these networks.
Key challenge: there is no way to easily track capital flows related to hype objects. This will become more possible with cryptocurrency technologies becoming widely adopted