Strange Creatures Summary

Imitation can be simply defined as an act of copying or the assumption of one’s behavior observed in others. Humans are strange creatures with the ability to imitate and cope languages or ideas that makes “us” different and can be distinguished from animals. These all describes memes, which supports individuals to explore and experience new inventions through a way of imitating. In “ Strange Creatures,” Susan Blackmore promotes the theory that a little conscious “me” is created by the memes so as to replication. She discusses memes as a replicator that can help to control human thoughts and behaviors and believes everything can be passed from person to person. Memes allows people to fit in and imitate others to what society has offered; howerver,
Individual learning is dependent on one’s experience by interacting with the various environment or knowledges of schooling. It is the capacity to build knowledge through individual reflection rather than just imitate an act from others. Blackmore discusses she is afraid of the ideas of imitation that may become a fear because “memes spread themselves around indiscriminately without regad to whether they are useful, neutral, or positively harmful to us” (37). Memes are selfish because they pressures people to fit in and recycle the same idea again and again. Formal education promotes the learners to develop and construct knowlegdges by understanding the previously information and assimilating with the new ones. It seems people imitate naturally because they create the new invention based on the previously observed. In fact, individual learning requires people to practice their own learning model and contribute to groups rather than just collaborate with them. People are allowed to have free talks and encouraged to question observed knowledges. Critical thinking helps people to explore and develop further knowleges of different fields by using the “shortcuts” that has been provided by precious thoughts and theories rather than just imitating