There’s interesting work on how culture accumulates in function of distinct kinds of imitation. Richerson and Boyd have done much of the theorizing.
Tim Tyler who frequently publishes on Lesswrong wrote a book on Memetics which might give some hints.
Finally Alex Mesoudi has specifically studies levels of optimality in different copying strategies.
There’s interesting work on how culture accumulates in function of distinct kinds of imitation. Richerson and Boyd have done much of the theorizing. Tim Tyler who frequently publishes on Lesswrong wrote a book on Memetics which might give some hints. Finally Alex Mesoudi has specifically studies levels of optimality in different copying strategies.