R0

(Pronounced R Nought)

In epidemiology, you can assign a number of how many people a disease can spread from person to person.

For the 1918 Spanish Flu, it had an R0 value of 1.4 to 2.8. This means if you got the Spanish Flu then you were likely to spread it to just under three people.

It turns out, ideas work the same way too. When an idea takes hold of us, we are likely to spread it to the others. If the idea is sticky, we will remember it for years to come.

Which is why you can hear a song that you used to listen to in high school and instantly be transported back to the that time.

Sticky.

Music is sticky because it follows a rhythm. Your idea can have a rhythm to it too.

Bum, bum, bump.

Bum, bum, bump.