Dr. Matthew Cashman

I study information transmission via culture, and I do it with tools I've developed for measuring the flow of memes through minds. These tools are quantitative (in that we end up with bits and so have a common currency), content-agnostic (so we don't have to take a stand about the right questions to ask), and widely applicable (to anything you can parameterize such that a person can guess at what symbol comes next—language, music, chess, etc.). I am applying these techniques to basic questions in cultural evolution, language and communication, education, and management.