# custom (social)

a usual pattern in a social group

- Computed level: L9 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: everyday  ·  Arena: 

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [pattern](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-pattern.regularity), [groups](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-groups.collection), [social](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-social.relational), [usual](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-usual.common)

**Through:** When a regular pattern is shared among members of a group, it becomes a custom.

**Novel properties:**
- shared behavioral expectation
- socially reinforced repetition
- collective normativity

## Examples
- Every U.S. presidential inauguration since 1789 has included a public oath-taking ceremony. *(institutions)*
- Japanese tea ceremonies follow prescribed movements and utensils, practiced identically in schools like Urasenke for centuries. *(culture)*
- Linux kernel releases follow a two- to three-month cycle, with version numbers incremented predictably since 2005. *(computing)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-custom.social*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-custom.social.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*