We’re here for such a short time, and we’d like to think we matter. “I’m not just one more person — I’m different.” That’s true, and also… not. We’re very much like one another, though the particular details of our lives are, of course, pretty unique. Still, particularly in the Western world, we like to be seen as separate from — and better than? — the herd. Many of us go out of our way to look different than “them,” too, declaring our uniqueness in our appearance.

So, how come so many individual anti-conformists end up looking alike? It’s called the “hipster effect,” and a study from Brandeis University mathematician Jonathan Touboul explains how it happens.

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