a natural history of copying
David Conniff on “Happy Days” in Times Select (sigh) writes about the human tendency to imitate and synchronize:
Mirroring the people around us is also a way we communicate affiliation and affinity. Two people in a friendly conversation often match each other’s body language down to the crossing of their ankles or the waggling of their feet. When it happens unconsciously, it feels good for both partners, as a way of saying, “I’m with you.” Studies suggest that we like a conversational partner more if the other person has subtly mimicked us. Mirroring gestures and movements also seems to help people work better together. They find a shared rhythm and gradually coalesce into a team, so the parts of a project get handed on seamlessly, as if by magic. One person starts a sentence and the other person finishes it. One comes up with a new product idea, and the other nudges it in a new direction.
Monkey see, monkey do. My friend and colleague Howard Besser often talks about how humans learn by copying: children, apprentices, writers, lawyers.
No wonder copyright law is in such a spasm.
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