turkle

Imitation and Authenticity Humans can be distinguished in many features from animals. Some might ask what are some unique characteristics that only humans have. While some people believe that the learning differentiates between humans and animals, others think that souls and spirits differentiate humans from animals. In “Strange Creatures”, Susan Blackmore talks about the idea of imitation and the way that humanity creates “memes” that are a collection of cognitive units of information. Memes control human thoughts and actions. In Zadie Smith’s essay, “Speaking in tongues”, the author supports the idea of having plural selves, multiple voices to different people, and that an authentic self does not exist. Everything that is passed from person to person is called a “meme”. Memes that people encounter every day affects on authenticity. Memes complicate the understanding of authenticity by pressuring people to fit in, imitate others, and recycle the same idea; however, having diverse voices and cultures encourages people have an authentic self.
Consciously or not, people desire and try to change themselves in many ways such as their accent, physical appearance, hairstyle, or weight in order to be accepted into the majority. It can be considered as the human nature and is hard to be denied. People try to be someone else other than himself or herself. More people change not to stand out in the crowd. Blackmore writes, “ Imitation comes naturally to us humans. Have you ever sat and blinked, or waved, or even smiled at a baby? We do it so easily, even as an infant. We copy each other all the time. Like seeing, it comes so effortlessly that we hardly think about it.” (Blackmore 34). To achieve mutual feeling in the community, people always want to alter their disfavored characteristics or adapt into the new environment. People imitate each other to fit into the society. In a group of people, one person who acts or dresses differently might easily feel left